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CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 


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AN    OLD-TIME    BISHOP   WITH    CROSIEK. 


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Cuvxoub  Cpurcp  Custom* 

Qnb  Cognate  ^uBjecfe. 


EDITED    BY 

WILLIAM  ANDREWS,   F.R.H.S., 

AUTHOR    OF 

'CURIOSITIES    OF    THE    CHURCH,*'     "  OLD    CHURCH     LORE, 

"BYGONE    ENGLAND,"   ETC. 


HULL  : 
WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 

LONDON : 
SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL,  HAMILTON,  KENT,  &  CO.,  LTD. 

i895- 


hull: 
printed  uy  william  andrews  and  co.,  the  hull  press. 


preface. 

IT  affords  me  pleasure  to  be  the  means  of 
giving  to  the  reading  public  another  volume 
dealing  with  the  byways  and  highways  of  church 
history. 

The  authors  who  have  been  good  enough  to 
favour  me  with  contributions  are  recognised 
authorities  on  the  subjects  they  have  written 
about,  and  I  hope  their  efforts  will  not  fail  to 
find  favour  with  the  press  and  the  public. 

William  Andrews. 

The  Hull  Press, 

Christmas  Eve,  i8g4- 


M760C51 


Contents. 


PAGE 


Sports  in  Churches,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Charles  Cox,  ll.d.,  f.s.a.  i 

Holy  Day  Customs,  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tyack,  b.a 21 

Church   Bells  :    When   and   Why   they    were    Rung,   by 

Florence  Peacock       ...           ..         ...         ...         ■••         •••  33 

Inscriptions  on  Bells,  by  William  Andrews,  f. r.h.s.             ...  49 

Laws  of  the  Belfry,  by  William  Andrews,  f. r.h.s.                 ...  64 

Ringers' Jugs,  by  Isaac  J.  Reeve •  74 

Customs  and  Superstitions  of  Baptism,  by  the  Rev.  Canon 

Benham,  b.d.,  f.s.a.             78 

Marriage  Customs,  by  England  Howlett,  f.s.a.            99 

Burial  Customs,  by  England  Howlett,  f.s.a.       ...         ...         ...  126 

Concerning  the  Churchyard,  by  John  Nicholson       ...          ..  147 

Altars  in  Churches,  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tyack,  b.a.             ...  161 

The  Rood  Loft  and  its  Uses,  by  John  T.  Page            167 

Armour  in  Churches,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Charles  Cox,  ll.d.,  f.s.a.  174 

Beating  the  Bounds,  by  John  T.  Page     1S2 

The  Story  of  the  Crosier,  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tyack,  b.a.  ...  191 

Bishops  in  Battle,  by  Edward  Lamplough          198 

The  Cloister  and  its  Story,  by  S.  W.  Kershaw,  f.s.a.          ...  232 

Shorthand  in  Church,  by  William  E.  A.  Axon,  f.r.s.l.        ...  246 
-Reminiscences  of  our  Village  Church,  by  the  Rev.  Canon 

Benham,  b.d.,  f.s.a 261 


CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 


Sports  in  Churches. 

By  Rev.  J.  Charles  Cox,  ll.d.,  f.s.a. 

IN  mediaeval  and  feudal  days,  as  is  well-known, 
our  parish  churches,  in  addition  to  their 
primary  purpose  of  providing  places  for  public 
worship  and  religious  instruction,  commonly  served 
for  various  secular  objects.  They  were  used  for 
manorial  courts  and  other  legal  purposes  of  an 
entirely  civil  character,  as  well  as  for  the  meeting 
of  spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  tribunals;  they  served, 
particularly  in  troublous  times,  for  the  storage  of 
wool  and  for  the  safe-custody  of  treasure  chests  ; 
and  they  occasionally  gave  shelter,  as  at  fair  times 
and  during  the  parish  wakes,  to  hucksters'  stalls, 
and  to  booths  for  the  sale  of  victuals.  Public 
opinion  of  those  days  saw  nothing  specially 
reprehensible  in  such  uses  of  the  churches, 
provided  they   were   confined  to   the   naves,   and 


2  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

did    not    interfere    with    divine     service,     more 
particularly  on  the  Sunday  and  festivals. 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
that  churches  were,  from  time  to  time,  used  for 
what  may  fairly  be  termed  "sports,"  or  amuse- 
ments. 

The  custom,  once  so  prevalent  in  the  great 
churches,  of  appointing  a  Boy-Bishop,  or  Nicholas- 
Bishop,  which  is  so  abhorrent  to  modern  ideas  of 
reverence,  and  which  gradually  developed  in 
extravagance,  had  a  praiseworthy  commencement. 
It  originated  in  the  idea  of  rewarding,  after  a 
religious  fashion,  the  most  deserving  choir-boy 
or  scholar  of  the  church-school.  The  selected 
lad  was  appointed  bishop  of  the  boys  on  St. 
Nicholas'  Day  (the  patron  saint  of  boys)  during 
the  solemn  singing  of  the  Magnificat,  and  was 
vested  in  special  pontificals  of  a  small  size.  He 
held  the  office  from  December  6th  (St.  Nicholas' 
Day)  to  December  28th  (Holy  Innocents).  "  The 
custom,"  says  Precentor  Walcott,  "prevailed  in 
the  great  schools  of  Winchester  and  Eton,  and 
was  perpetuated  by  Dean  Colet  in  his  foundation 
of  St.  Paul's,  no  doubt  as  a  stimulus  to  Christian 
ambition  in  the  boy,  just  as  the  mitre  and  staff  are 
painted  as  the  reward  of  learning  on   the  scrolls 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  3 

of  Winchester,   or  in  honour  of  the  Holy  Child 
esus. 

The  following  is  the  statute  of  Dean  Colet, 
a.d.  1518,  on  this  subject: — "All  these  children 
shall,  every  Childermas  Daye,  come  to  Paule's 
Churche,  and  hear  the.  Childe  Bishop's  sermone  ; 
and  after  be  at  the  hyghe  masse,  and  each  of  them 
offer  a  id.  to  the  Childe  Bishop,  and  with  them 
maistors  and  surveyors  of  the  scole." 

The  ceremonies  attached  to  this  boyish  parody 
of  a  most  solemn  office  varied  considerably,  but  it 
is  known  to  have  existed  in  all  the  cathedral 
churches  of  France  and  Spain,  as  well  as  in  many 
parts  of  Germany  and  Switzerland.  In  England, 
every  cathedral,  which  possesses  post-reformation 
records,  yields  abundant  evidence  of  the  Child- 
Bishop  customs.  We  found  interesting  mention 
of  it  in  several  places  when  setting  in  order  the 
chaotic  mass  of  capitular  muniments  at  Lichfield. 
An  inventory  of  1345  names  four  small  choir 
copes  for  the  use  of  boys  on  the  feast  of  Holy 
Innocents.  The  next  century  names  a  mitre, 
cope,  sandals,  gloves,  and  staff  for  the  Nicholas 
Bishop.  An  invariable  part  of  the  proceedings 
seems  to  have  been  a  sermon  from  the  Boy 
Bishop,  delivered  from  the  usual  pulpit.      He  was 


4  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

doubtless  well  drilled  in  the  discourse  by  the 
chancellor,  or  by  his  substitute,  the  choir  school 
master.  Indeed,  several  of  the  sermons  that 
were  learnt  by  rote  by  the  Boy  Bishop  are  still 
extant.  At  Salisbury,  the  whole  details  are  set 
forth  in  the  printed  procession  of  the  cathedral 
church.  In  the  order  of  the  procession,  on  the  eve 
of  Innocents'  Day,  the  dean  and  canons  residentiary 
walked  first,  and  were  followed  by  the  chaplains  ; 
the  boy-bishop,  with  his  boy-prebendaries,  closing 
the  procession  as  the  position  of  the  greatest 
dignity.  The  boy-bishop  and  his  attendants  took 
the  highest  places  in  choir,  the  canons  carrying 
the  incense,  tapers,  etc.  At  the  conclusion  of 
compline  the  boy  gave  the  benediction,  and  until 
the  close  of  the  procession  on  the  following 
evening  none  of  the  clergy  of  any  condition  were 
allowed  to  ascend  to  the  upper  part  of  the  sanctuary, 
which  was  reserved  for  the  choir  boys  and  their 
prelate. 

In  most  churches  the  boys  performed  all  the 
ceremonies,  and  said  all  the  offices  save  mass, 
during  this  period  ;  in  some  they  were  even  per- 
mitted to  make  a  travesty  of  mass.  On  the 
Continent,  a  variety  of  indecent  levities  were  by 
degrees  admitted,  such  as  the  boy  being   dressed 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  5 

in  a  bishop's  robes  reversed,  and  old  shoes  being 
burnt  instead  of  incense ;  and  when  they  had 
raised  sufficient  scandal  in  the  church  itself,  they 
then  paraded  the  streets,  or  sought  to  make  levies 
in  the  market-place.  To  the  credit  of  the  church, 
it  should  be  remarked  that  these  excesses  were  on 
several  occasions  interdicted  by  pre-reformation 
councils,  though  apparently  with  but  partial 
success.  The  Council  of  Basle,  which  sat  in 
143 1,  issued  the  following  stringent  canon  : — • 
"  This  sacred  synod,  detesting  that  foul  abuse 
frequent  in  certain  churches,  in  which,  on  certain 
festivals  of  the  year,  certain  persons  with  a  mitre, 
staff,  and  pontifical  robes,  bless  men  after  the 
manner  of  bishops,  others  being  clothed  like 
kings  and  dukes,  which  is  called  the  Feast  of 
Fools,  of  Innocents,  or  of  Children  in  certain 
countries ;  others  practising  vizarded  and  theatrical 
sports  ;  others  making  trains  and  dances  of  men 
and  women,  move  men  to  spectacles  and  cachin- 
nations  ;  hath  appointed  and  commanded  as  well 
ordinaries  as  deans  and  rectors  of  churches,  under 
pain  of  suspension  of  all  their  ecclesiastical  revenues 
for  three  months  space,  if  they  suffered  these 
and  such  like  plays  and  pastimes  to  be  any  more 
exercised  in  the  church,  which  ought  to  be  the 


6  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

house  of  prayer,  nor  yet  in  the  churchyard,  and 
that  they  neglect  not  to  punish  the  offender  by 
ecclesiastical  censures  and  other  remedies  of  law." 

Boy-bishoping  was  by  no  means  confined  in 
England  to  the  cathedral  and  large  collegiate 
churches,  but  it  was  so  generally  prevalent  and 
popular  that  it  appears  to  have  prevailed  where- 
ever  there  was  a  choir  school,  attached  to 
to  any  church,  whether  in  town  or  country. 
The  churchwardens'  accounts  of  St.  Mary 
Hill,  London,  1485-6,  contain  the  two  following 
entries  : — "  Item,  six  copes  for  children  of  dy vers 
sortes.  Item,  a  myter  for  a  bishop  at  Seint 
Nycholas  tyde,  garnyshed  with  sylver  and  anelyd, 
and  pedes  and  counterfete  stones."  The  same 
accounts  make  mention  of  the  purchase  of 
properties  for  a  like  purpose  in  1549-5°  during 
Queen  Mary's  reign.  We  have  met  references 
to  a  like  children's  pageant  in  comparatively  out- 
of-the-way  places  of  Yorkshire,  Derbyshire,  and 
West  Somersetshire. 

So  far  as  England  was  concerned,  the  show  of 
the  boy-bishop,  which  the  Church  had  failed  to 
suppress  or  to  keep  within  decent  limits  was  sum- 
marily put  an  end  to  (save  for  a  slight  revival  in  the 
days  of  Mary  Tudor)  by  a  vigorous  proclamation  of 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  7 

Henry  VIII.  This  proclamation,  issued  on  July 
22nd,  1542,  thus  concludes: — "Whereas  heretofore 
dyvers  and  many  superstitious  and  chyldish 
observancies  have  been  used,  and  yet  to  this  day 
are  observed  and  kept  in  many  and  sundry  partes 
of  this  realme,  as  upon  Saint  Nicholas,  the  Holie 
Innocents,  and  such  like,  the  children  be  strangelie 
decked  and  apparayled  to  counterfeit  priests, 
bishops  and  women,  and  to  be  ledde  with  songs 
and  dances  from  house  to  house,  blessing  the 
people,  and  gathering  of  money  ;  and  boys  do 
singe  masse  and  preach  in  the  pulpitt,  with  such 
unfittinge  and  inconvenient  usages,  rather  to  the 
derysyion  than  anie  true  glorie  of  God,  or  honour 
of  His  Sayntes.  The  Kynge's  Majestie  wylleth 
and  commandeth  that  henceforth  all  such 
superstitious  observancies  be  left  and  duly 
extinguished  throughout  all  this  realm  and 
dominions." 

The  writings  of  the  early  reformers,  as  well  as 
allusions  in  secular  literature  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  help  to  prove  how  well-known,  nay  almost 
universal,  was  this  boyish  sporting  and  strange 
burlesquing  of  things  sacred  throughout  England 
In  "The  Catechism  of  the  Offices  of  all  Degrees," 
issued  by  Thomas  Beacon,  Chaplain  to  Archbishop 


8  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Cranmer,  in  the   time  of  Edward  VI.,  occurs  the 
following  passage  : — 

"  Father. — What  if  he  preach  not,  neither  can  preach  ? 

Son. — Then  is  he  a  Nicholas  bishop  and  an  idol,  and  indeed 
no  better  than  a  painted  bishop  on  a  wall:  yea,  he  is, 
as  the  prophet  saith,  'A  dumb  dog,  not  able  to 
bark ;'  he  is  also,  as  our  Saviour  Christ  saith 
'  Unsavoury  salt,  worth  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast 
out,  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men.'  Wo  be 
to  those  rulers  that  set  such  idols  and  white  daubed 
walls  over  the  flock  of  Christ,  whom  he  hath  purchased 
with  His  precious  blood!  Horrible  and  great  is 
their  damnation." 

At  the  first  blush,  any  connection  with  dancing 
and  church  attendance  or  worship  may  seem 
profane  and  impossible  ;  but  further  reflection  at 
all  events  qualifies  any  too  hasty  generalisation. 
Emotions  of  joy  and  sorrow  universally  express 
themselves  among  mankind  in  movements  and 
gestures  of  the  body.  Efforts  were  therefore 
made  in  early  days,  particularly  among  the  more 
demonstrative  people  of  the  east  and  south,  to 
reduce  to  measure,  and  to  strengthen  by  unison, 
pleasureable  emotions  of  joy.  The  dance  is 
spoken  of  throughout  the  Old  Testament  as 
symbolical  of  rejoicing,  and  the  rejoicing  in  their 
feasts  is  emphatically  and  repeatedly  enjoined 
upon   the   Israelites.      So,  too,  with  both  Romans 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  9 

and  Egyptians,  the  dance,  in  certain  circumstances- 
was  associated  with  religious  ceremonies,  and  was 
intended  to  express  the  thankful  worship  of  the 
body.     The  dances  led  by  Miriam,  by  Jephthah's 
daughter,  by  Judith,  and  doubtless  too  by  Deborah, 
soon  occur  to  the  mind.      David  also  himself  led 
the  dance  on  the  return  of  the  Ark  of  God  from 
its  long  exile  ;  whilst  from  the  mention  in  associa- 
tion of  "  damsels,"   "  timbrels,"  and   "  dances  "  as 
elements   of  religious    worship    in    Psalms    cxvii, 
cxlix,    and   cl,    it   may   be   concluded   that    David 
incorporated    these    joyous    movements    in    the 
formal  rites  of  the  established  Tabernacle  service. 
In  later  Judaism  the  dance  certainly  survived  in 
the  religious  festivities  of  the  feast  of  Tabernacles. 
It  may  therefore  have   come   to   pass   that   early 
Christians,  realising    the  joyous  feature    of   their 
special  creed,  expressing  its  constant  belief  in  the 
"resurrection  of  the  body,"  may  have  desired  in 
all  honesty  and  innocency  to  occasionally  associate 
the  dance  with  festal  service.     The  results  were, 
however,    unfortunate  ;  pagan  practices  of  a  like 
character  were,  as  a  rule,  of  a  licentious  nature, 
and  it  became  necessary  to  try  and  suppress  all 
such  forms  of  expression  of  joy  or  thanksgiving. 
St.    Augustine    mentions    with    abhorrence    that 


io  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

dancers  invaded  the  resting  place  of  St.   Cyprian 
at  night  and  sang  songs  there,  a  custom  that  died 
out  on  the  institution  of  vigils.        Pope  Eugenius 
II.  (824-7)  prohibited  dancing  in  churches,  thereby 
showing  how  usual  the  custom  became.       In   858 
the  Bishop  of  Orleans  condemned  the  dancing  of 
women    in    the    presbytery    on    festivals.       The 
Council     of     Avignon,      which      sat      in     1209, 
prohibited  the  theatrical  dances  in  churches  which 
were  sometimes  the  accompaniment  of  the  vigils 
of   Saints'    days.      The    Councils   of   Bourges  in 
1286,    and    of  Bayeux    in    1300,    condemned   all 
dances  which  took  place  in  church  or  churchyards. 
In   the  later  mediaeval    period    Morris-dancing 
was   associated  with  churches,   and  the    wardens 
not   infrequently  had  in  their    possession    certain 
properties  that  were  necessary  for  its  due  perfor- 
mance.      The    Morris-dancing    was    occasionally 
actually  performed  within  the  churches,  that  is  in 
the  nave,   or  at  the  west  end  ;  the  mummers   not 
going  forth  on  their  Whitsuntide  round   until  the 
first    dance    had    been    given    within    the    sacred 
fabric.      Nor   is   it   difficult   for   the   antiquary   to 
trace  the  connection  between   the   Morris-dancing 
and  the  active  expression   of  Christianity.     When 
the    Fifth    Crusade    succeeded    in    effecting    the 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  n 

capture  of  Constantinople,  the  Latins  in  their  joy 
celebrated  the  event  by  solemn  dances  in  the 
great  church  of  St.  Sophia.  The  usual,  nay 
almost  invariable,  subject  of  the  mumming-play, 
as  apart  from  the  miracle-play,  was  one  drawn 
from  the  crusading  legend,  St.  George  rescuing  a 
Christian  maid  from  her  Turkish  masters  was  the 
usual  stock  piece,  whilst  the  joy  of  victory  was 
invariably  celebrated  in  the  Morris  (that  is  the 
Moorish)  dance. 

The  earliest  of  the  Kingston-upon-Thames 
churchwarden  accounts,  which  cover  the  last 
years  of  H  enry  V 1 1 .  and  the  reign  of  H  enry  VIII., 
have  various  references  to  these  dances.  In  the 
inventory  of  church  property  for  1537-8  are 
enumerated  : — "  A  fryers  cote  of  russet  and  a 
kyrtele  welted  with  red  cloth,  a  mowrens 
(Moor's)  cote  of  buckram,  and  four  morres 
daunsars  cotes  of  white  fustian  spangelid,  and  too 
gryne  satin  cotes,  and  disarddes  cote  of  cotton, 
and  six  pay  re  of  garters  with  belles." 

In  the  recently  published  and  highly-interesting 
churchwardens'  accounts  of  St.  Mary's,  Reading, 
are  the  following  entries   for  the   year  1556-7  : — 

"  I'tm   payed   for   the   morrys    daunsers  and   the 

mynstrelles  mete  and  drinke  at  Whitsuntide     iii.s.iiij.d 


12  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

"  I'tm  payed  to  them  the  Sondy  after  Mayday        -  xx.d 

Pd  to  the  painter  for  paynting  of  their  Cottes       -  ii.s.viij.d 

Pd  for  a  peir  of  showes  for  the  morris  daunsers   -  iiij.s 

Pd  for  iiij  dozen  belles  for  the  morrys  daunsers  -  ij.s 

Pd  for  sowing  of  the  morrys  Cottes      -         -         -  vij.d 

The  churchwardens'  accounts  of  St.  Helen's, 
Abingdon,  for  the  second  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
(1559)  show  that  "two  dozen  of  morres  belles 
were  bought  by  the  parish  for  a  shilling." 

An  injunction  of  Henry  VIII.  laid  down  the 
principle,  now  so  generally  accepted,  that  "  all 
soberness,  quietness,  and  godliness  ought  there 
(in  the  churches)  to  be  used,"  and  enjoined  that 
"  no  Christian  person  should  abuse  the  same 
by  eating,  drinking,  buying,  selling,  playing, 
dancing,  or  with  other  profane  or  worldly  matters." 
But  this  injunction  was  often  treated  as  a  dead 
letter  up  to  the  close  of  the  century  in  which  it 
was  issued.  In  Stubb's  "  Anatomie  of  Abuses," 
first  printed  in  1585,  we  read  : — 

"The  wild  heades  of  the  parish,  flocking  together,  chuse 
them  a  grawnd  captain  of  mischief,  whom  they  innoble  with 
the  title  of  my  Lord  of  Misrule.  Then  marche  these  heathen 
companie  towards  the  church  and  churchyard,  their  pipers 
pypyng,  drummers  thonderyng,  their  stumpes  dauncyng,  their 
belles  jyngling,  their  handkerchefes  swyngyng  about  their  heads 
like  madmen,  their  hobbie-horses  and  other  monsters 
skyrmishyng  amongst  the  throng  ;  and  in  this  sorte  they  go  to 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  13 

the  church  (though  the  minister  be  at  praier  or  preachyng) 
dauncing  and  swyngyng  their  handkerchiefs  over  their  heads  in 
the  churche,  like  devilles  incarnate,  with  such  a  confused  noise 
that  no  man  can  heare  his  owne  voyce.  Then  the  foolish 
people,  they  looke,  they  stare,  they  laugh,  they  fleere,  and 
mywnt  upon  the  formes  and  pewes  to  see  these  goodly  pageants 
solemnized  in  this  sort.  Then,  after  this,  about  the  church 
they  go  againe  and  againe,  and  so  fourthe  into  the  churchyard, 
where  they  have  commonly  their  summerhalls,  their  bowers, 
arbours  and  banquetyng  houses  set  up,  wherein  they  feast, 
banquet  and  dance  all  that  day,  and  peradventure,  all  that 
night  too,  and  thus  these  terrestrial  furies  spend  the  sabbath 
daie." 

In  the  days  of  the  antiquary,  Sir  John  Aubrey, 
who  died  in  1697,  there  was  Christmas  dancing  in 
various  Yorkshire  churches,  accompanied  with 
songs  of  Yule. 

The  mounted  reindeer  antlers,  as  well  as  the 
dresses  and  other  properties  of  the  remarkable 
horn  dancers  of  Abbots  Bromley,  Staffordshire, 
are  still  kept  in  the  parish  church,  where  we 
recently  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  them 
when  investigating  the  history  of  this  highly 
interesting-  survival.  The  dance  still  continues 
year  by  year,  and  there  seems  no  doubt  that  the 
tradition  is  true  which  assigned  to  the  performers 
a  preliminary  dance  through  the  churches  before 
they  started  on  their  rounds  through  the  parish 


i4  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  neighbourhood,  collecting  money  for  church 
purposes.  There  are  those  living  who  can 
recollect  the  accompanying  music  being  played  in 
the  church  porch,  whilst  the  dancers  executed 
their  steps  in  the  adjacent  parts  of  the 
churchyard. 

A  singular  and  attractive  relic  of  the  custom  of 
dancing  in  churches  is  still  practiced  three  times  a 
year  in  the  great  cathedral  of  Seville,  namely  on 
the  feasts  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  of 
Corpus  Christi,  and  on  the  last  three  days  of  the 
Carnival.  Ten  choristers,  dressed  in  the  costume 
of  pages  of  the  time  of  Philip  III.,  with  plumed 
hats,  dance  a  stately  but  most  graceful  measure, 
for  about  half-an-hour,  within  the  iron  screens  in 
front  of  the  high  altar.  They  are  dressed  in  blue 
and  white  for  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  in  red  and 
white  for  Corpus  Christi.  The  boys  accompany 
the  minuet-like  movements  with  the  clinking  of 
castanets.  During  the  measure,  a  hymn,  arranged 
for  three  voices  with  orchestral  accompaniment,  is 
sung  in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  The 
refrain  to  the  verses  is  as  follows  : — 

"Tu  nombre  Divino, 
Jesus,  invocamos, 
Y  Dios  Te  adoramos 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  15 

"  Por  nos  encarnado, 
Yen  hostia  abreviado 
De  celico  pan  !" 

The  canons  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  well 
as  the  visitation  articles  of  several  of  our  bishops 
soon  after  the  Reformation,  afford  plain  proof  of 
the  not  infrequent  continuance  of  sports  and 
feastino-s  within  the  churches. 

The  48th  of  Bishop  Hooper's  visitation  articles 
runs  as  follows  : — 

"  Item,  that  the  churchwardens  do  not  permit  any  buying, 
selling,  gaming,  outrageous  noises,  tumult,  or  any  other  idle 
occupying  of  youth,  in  the  church,  church  porch,  or  church- 
yard, during  the  time  of  common  prayer,  sermon,  or  reading  of 
the  homily." 

Still  more  explicit  is  the  61st  article  of 
the  provincial  visitation  ol  Archbishop 
Grindal : — 

"  Whether  the  ministers  and  churchwardens  have  suffered 
any  lords  of  misrule,  or  summer  lords  or  ladies,  or  any 
disguised  persons,  or  others,  in  Christmas  or  at  May-games, 
or  any  morris-dancers,  or  at  any  other  times  to  come,  unrever- 
ently  into  the  church  or  churchyard,  and  there  to  dance,  or 
play  any  unseemly  parts,  with  scoffs,  jests,  wanton  gestures,  or 
ribald  talk,  namely  in  the  time  of  Common  Prayer  ;  and  what 
they  be  that  commit  such  disorder,  or  accompany  or  maintain 
them  ?" 

The   88th   Canon  of  the    Church   of    England 


16  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

(1603),  under  the  heading,    "Churches  not  to  be 
profaned,"  says  : — 

"  The  churchwardens  or  questmen,  and  their  assistants, 
shall  suffer  no  plays,  feasts,  banquets,  suppers,  church-ales, 
drinkings,  temporal  courts  or  leets,  lay-juries,  musters,  or  any 
other  profane  usage  to  be  kept  in  the  church,  chapels  or 
churchyard." 

With  regard  to  plays  in  churches,  it  has  to  be 
recollected  that  the  mediaeval  Miracle  Play,  parti- 
cularly in  England,  had  its  origin  in  an  elaboration 
of  the  liturgy  at  special  seasons,  in   order  to  bring 
home  Christian  truths  more  closely  to  the  under- 
standing of  an  unlettered  people.     The  primitive 
Passion  play  consisted  in  the  solemn  removal  of 
the  Crucifix  on  Good  Friday,  the  laying  it  away 
beneath   the  altar  or   in    a  specially    constructed 
"sepulchre,"  the  setting  of  a  watch  to  guard  it 
and  the  raising  it  again  with  joyous  anthem   on 
the  Resurrection  morn  of  Easter.     After  the  third 
lesson,  before  the  Te  Deum  at  mattins  on   Easter 
Day  (according  to  the   English  use),   the   clergy 
walked  in  procession  to  the  high  altar,  where  two 
singingmen  took  the  parts  SS.   Peter  and  John, 
whilst  three  altos,  in  albe  s,  represented  the  three 
Maries,    to    each    of   whom    certain    words    were 
assigned.      The   same   colloquy   was   repeated   at 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  17 

Mass  as  part  of  the  sequence.  So,  too,  with 
Nativity  plays,  they  had  their  origin  in  the  parts 
assigned  to  the  choir  boys  and  singing  men,  as 
representing  angels,  shepherds,  wise-men,  etc. 
A  manger  was  always  erected  in  one  part  of  the 
church,  and  as  the  play  developed  a  throne  for 
Herod  was  placed  in  another  position,  whilst  a 
distant  corner  was  supposed  to  represent  Egypt. 

As  the  Miracle  Plays  grew  in  importance  and 
popularity,  their  representation  in  churches  became 
increasingly  impossible,  if  any  regard  was  to  be 
had  to  scenic  effects.  Hence  the  actors  ceased  to 
be  the  clergy  and  choir,  their  place  being  taken  by 
members  of  trade-gilds,  or  by  wandering  players. 
Occasionally,  however,  these  playing  troops  were 
allowed  to  use  the  churches,  of  which,  if  space 
permitted,  a  variety  of  instances,  many  of  our  own 
culling,  could  be  given.  Nay,  the  authorities, 
both  in  pre-reformation  and  post-reformation  times 
were  occasionally  lax  enough  to  suffer  secular 
country  dramas  and  rude  representations  of 
historic  scenes  to  be  given  by  the  players  in  the 
naves  of  the  parish  churches.* 

In  the  churchwarden's  accounts  of  St.  Michael's,  - 

*  The  two  best  recent  books  on  the  subject  are  Pollard's  English  Miracle 
Plays  (Clarendon  Press,  1890,)  and  Bate's  The  English  Religiotis  Drama 
(Macmillan,  1S93.) 

2 


18  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Bath,  under  the  year  1482,  are  several  entries 
pertaining  to  the  miracle  players,  who  doubtless 
performed  in  the  church,  and  who  certainly  par- 
took of  their  refreshment  in  the  same  place.  The 
players  received  a  preliminary  refresher  on  their 
arrival,  which  is  thus  expressed  in  the  original  : — 

Propotatione    le   players  in  recordaaone    ludorum 

diver  sis  vicibus      ------  iij.d. 

They  seem  to  have  been  paid  chiefly  in  kind, 
as  the  accounts  are  charged  with — 

Two  bushels  of  corn,  two  dozen  pots  of  beer,  and  cheese, 
to  the  value  of  1. s  i.d.  for  the  play.  The  wardens  also  paid 
for  this  play  20. d.  for  skins,  which  would  be  used  for  disguise- 
ments,  and  3.S.  for  staining  diverse  properties  that  were 
provided  for  the  occasion. 

Another  entry  relative  to  the  same  visit,  has, 
we  think,  been  misinterpreted  by  Rev.  Preben- 
dary Pearson,  when  he  edited  these  accounts  in 
1878.     The  entry  reads  : — 

Et  Johi  Foivhr  pro  cariando  le  tymbe  a  cimiterio 

dido  tempore  ludi  -         -         -         -         -         -  v.d. 

Mr.  Pearson  thought  this  meant  a  tomb  (tymda), 
but  it  is  far  more  likely  that  it  was  a  bulky  plat- 
form of  timber,  placed  in  the  churchyard  when 
not  in  use,  and  only  brought  into  the  church  when 
it  was  required  to  serve  as  a  stage. 


SPORTS  IN  CHURCHES.  19 

With  regard  to  feasting  in  churches,  one  of  the 
canons  put  forth  in  1571  specially  enjoined  the 
churchwardens  to  disallow  the  holding  of  feasts, 
drinking  parties,  banquets,  and  public  entertain- 
ments within  the  walls  of  churches.  The  Church- 
ales,  Clark-ales,  and  Bid-ales,  about  which  so 
much  has  been  written,  were  originally  held 
within  the  fabric,  and  a  variety  of  other  drinking 
and  eating  customs  in  the  same  place  were  at  one 
time  prevalent,  lingering  on  for  some  time  after 
the  Reformation  in  certain  places,  and  even  lasting 
almost  to  our  own  days  in  occasional  retired 
parishes. 

Funeral  banquets,  for  the  entertainment  of 
mourners,  were  not  infrequently  held  in  the  church 
when  the  ceremony  was  over,  or  even  on  the  next 
Sunday. 

In  Strype's  edition  of  Stowes  London  it  is 
recorded  that  : — 

"Margaret  Atkinson,  widow,  by  her  will,  October  18th, 
1544,  orders  that  the  next  Sunday  after  her  burial  there  be 
provided  two  dozens  of  bread,  a  kilderkin  of  ale,  two  gammons 
of  bacon,  three  shoulders  of  mutton,  and  two  couples  of 
rabbits,  desiring  all  the  parish,  as  well  as  rich  as  poor,  to  take 
part  thereof,  and  a  table  be  set  in  the  midst  of  the  church, 
-with  everything  necessary  therto." 

We  have  seen  wills  pertaining  to  Porlock  and 


20  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Cutcombe,  Somersetshire,  to  Scropton,  Derby- 
shire, and  to  Easingwold,  Yorkshire,  all  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  expressly 
provide  for  the  refreshment  of  the  mourners  within 
the  church. 

Occasionally,  too,  parochial  charities  provided 
that  the  bequest  in  kind  should  be  consumed  in 
the  church.  This  was  the  case  with  regard  to  a 
small  seventeenth  century  charity,  by  the  terms  of 
which  a  certain  quantity  of  bread  and  beer  were 
to  be  distributed  in  the  parish  church  of  Barton-le- 
Street,  Yorkshire,  on  Holy  Thursday  to  the 
children  of  the  parish,  to  be  by  them  consumed 
within  the  church,  close  to  the  tomb  of  the  testator. 
This  custom  prevailed  until  about  1820,  when  it 
was  abandoned  in  favour  of  the  churchyard.  The 
reformed  custom  prevailed  for  some  twenty  years, 
when  it  in  turn  gave  way  to  a  distribution  of  the 
fund  in  money  to  the  aged  poor. 

Sad  and  quaint  instances  of  the  occasional 
evil  uses  of  churches  in  recent  times,  even 
during  the  present  century,  could  be  gleaned,  such 
as  cock-fighting,  card-playing,  etc.  ;  but  the  record 
would  be  of  no  profit,  for  they  would  not  be 
examples  of  any  once  established  custom,  but 
mere  freaks  of  wanton  impiety. 


Ibol^  E>a£  Customs. 

By  the  Rev  Geo.  S.  Tyack,  b.a. 

IT  is  not  surprising  that  a  multitude  of  quaint 
customs  has  sprung  up  around  the  holy  days 
of  the  church.  For  these  were  the  holidays  of 
the  people  in  "  Merrie  England  "  of  the  bygone 
times  ;  the  seasons  when  gossips  met  to  talk,  and 
young  folk  to  play,  and  all  the  country-side  was 
gathered  first  in  the  church,  and  then  on  the 
village  oreen,  or  round  their  neighbours' 
hospitable  hearths.  By  sermon  or  by  eloquent 
device  of  ritual,  the  parish  priest  endeavoured 
to  imprint  upon  the  simple  minds  of  his  flock  the 
great  truth  which  the  holy  day  commemorated  ; 
and  they,  on  their  part,  as  free  for  the  day  from 
responsibility  as  from  labour,  showed  their  joy  in 
a  hundred  different  jests  and  homely  sports. 
Within  the  church  and  without,  therefore,  was 
there  ample  scope  for  curious  customs  to  grow 
up,  some  of  which,  even  though  the  origin  and 
meaning  have  been  lost,  live  on  among  us  to  the 
present  day. 


22  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

The  word  feast,  in  the  sense  of  a  banquet,  is 
now  so  familiar  to  us,  that  we  are  in  danger  of 
altogether  forgetting  that  originally  it  contained 
no  allusion  to  eating  and  drinking.  But  so 
universal  is  the  idea  that  on  all  days  of  rejoicing 
a  meal  of  special  dainties  should  form  part  of 
the  celebration,  that  long  before  we  English  had 
wrought  the  word  into  its  present  form,  the 
Roman  poets  had  begun  to  use  its  Latin  original 
in  the  sense  of  a  festal  banquet.  Certainly  no 
high  day  is  complete  and  national  with  us  unless 
it  include  a  dinner  amongst  its  pleasures.  We 
find,  therefore,  in  surveying  the  holy  day  customs 
of  yore,  signs  of  much  merry-making  of  this 
kind,  and  particularly  of  the  dedication  of  special 
viands  to  certain  occasions. 

From  time  immemorial,  for  instance,  Christmas 
cheer  was  incomplete  without  its  mince-pies  and 
plum-pudding  ;  the  former  emblematic,  so  some 
say,  by  their  shape,  of  the  manger-bed  of  the 
Infant  Redeemer,  and  the  latter  by  its  rich 
ingredients  of  the  offerings  of  the  three  kings. 
The  pancakes  of  Shrove  Tuesday  are  equally 
universal,  and  form  so  conspicuous  a  part  of  the 
day's  solemnities  that  the  day  is  often  known  as 
"  pancake-day,"    and     the    bell     which     formerly 


HOLY  DAY  CUSTOMS.  23 

summoned  the  faithful  to  the  shriving  was 
similarly  named  the  "pancake-bell."  In  many 
parts  of  the  country,  as  for  example  at  Crowle, 
in  North  Lincolnshire,  the  bell  is  still  rung  under 
that  name. 

Mid- Lent,  or  Mothering  Sunday,  has  its 
peculiar  fare  in  simnel  cakes.  Few  days  in  the 
year  have  received  so  many  titles  as  this  one. 
It  is  Mothering  Sunday  from  the  ancient  practice 
of  priests  and  people  going,  on  that  day,  in 
pilgrimage  to  the  mother-church  of  the  district, 
from  which  arose  also  a  traditional  habit  of 
children  visiting  their  parents  on  the  same 
occasion.  At  this  family  re-union  simnels  were 
the  proper  fare.  But  the  day  is  also  Bragget 
Sunday,  from  the  draughts  of  bragget,  or  mulled 
ale,  with  which,  in  some  parts,  notably  in 
Lancashire,  the  cakes  were  washed  down. 
Again  it  is  Fag-pie  Sunday,  from  another 
refection  sacred  to  it  in  the  same  county,  namely 
a  pie  of  figs  and  spices.  Refreshment  Sunday, 
and  the  Sunday  of  the  Five  Loaves,  have 
reference  to  the  Eucharistic  Gospel  for  the  day. 

The  following  Sunday,  Passion  Sunday,  has  its 
special  dish  in  carlings,  or  peas  fried  in  butter  ; 
and    on    Palm    Sunday   figs    were   again   thought 


24  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

appropriate.  A  strange  custom,  existing  till 
comparatively  recent  times  at  Sellack,  in  Hert- 
fordshire, was  the  distribution  to  those  present 
at  church  on  Palm  Sunday  of  buns  and  cider  by 
the  churchwardens,  with  the  words,  "  Peace  and 
c/ood  neighbourhood." 

Even  the  great  fast  of  the  year  has  its  peculiar 
food  in  the  hot  cross  buns  of  Good  Friday. 
These  are  probably  a  survival  of  the  heathen 
practice  of  offering  consecrated  cakes  to  the  gods. 
They  were  originally  unleavened  cakes,  made,  it 
is  said,  from  the  dough  out  of  which  the  hosts  for 
the  altar  were  baked,  a  fact  which  suggests  a 
connection  with  the  Pascal  regulations  of  the 
Jews.  The  stamp  of  the  cross  probably  marks 
the  effort  of  the  church  to  give  a  Christian 
significance  to  a  practice  that  was  found  to  be 
practically  ineradicable. 

Easter,  the  "Queen  of  Festivals,"  has  no  fare 
so  unmistakably  assigned  to  it  as  some  other  holy 
days.  Hare-pie  is  the  correct  thing  in  some 
places,  and  at  Hallaton,  in  Leicestershire,  there  is 
an  endowment  for  providing  hare-pie,  bread,  and 
ale,  for  distribution  at  this  season.  At  Twicken- 
ham two  large  cakes  were  formerly  divided  among 
the  young  folk  of  the  parish  at  Easter  ;  a  harmless 


HOLY  DAY  CUSTOMS.  25 

practice  which  the  Puritans  suppressed  in  1645, 
with  the  result  that  often  attends  the  efforts  of 
busy-bodies,  matters  were  altered  for  the  worse  ; 
for,  thenceforward,  penny  loaves  were  purchased 
with  the  money,  and  flung  from  the  Church 
Tower  to  be  scrambled  for.  At  Biddenden,  in 
Kent,  a  larije  number  of  cakes  and  loaves  are 
given  away  on  this  day,  on  the  former  of  which  is 
impressed  the  image  of  two  females,  joined 
together  at  hip  and  shoulder.  These  are  the 
"  Biddenden  Maids,"  Eliza  and  Mary  Chulkhurst, 
who  are  said  to  have  been  born  in  the  village,  in 
the  year  1 100,  thus  strangely  joined,  and  in  whose 
memory  the  rent  of  a  plot  of  land,  called  the 
"  Bread  and  Cheese  Land,"  is  thus  distributed. 

Other  viands  traditionally  connected  with  certain 
holy  days  are  the  great  spiced-cakes  on  Twelfth 
Night,  and  Valentine  Buns  given  to  children  in 
Leicestershire,  on  S.  Valentine's  Day.  A  special 
"brand  "of  toffee  is  made  at  Bozeat,  in  North- 
amptonshire, for  S.  Andrew's  Day ;  and  roast 
goose  has  long  been  considered  essential  to  the 
due  observance  of  Michaelmas. 

Reference  was  made  above  to  the  survival  of 
heathen  customs  among  us,  in  a  dress  more  or 
less  Christian  ;  and  there  can  be   no    doubt    that 


26  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

such  is  the  fittest  description  of  very  many  holy 
day  practices.  Some  usage  was  found  in  vogue, 
in  itself  harmless  enough,  but  allied  by  long 
association  with  the  superstitions  of  paganism. 
In  some  cases  the  mere  conservatism  of  popular 
feeling  kept  these  alive,  after  all  meaning  had  died 
out  of  them  ;  but  in  many  instances  the  church 
took  them  up,  and  gave  to  the  dry  bones  of  the 
heathen  custom  a  soul  of  Christian  meaning. 
Conspicious  among  such  are  the  use  of  mistletoe, 
and  the  burning  of  the  Yule-log,  as  adjuncts  to 
the  fjaietv  and  brightness  of  the  Feast  of  the 
Nativity.  Mistletoe  was  the  most  sacred  of 
plants  in  the  days  of  the  Druids  ;  and  it  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  examples  of  the 
tenacity  of  life  displayed  by  popular  customs,  that 
a  tradition  of  special  privilege  should  still  cling  to 
the  mistletoe  in  spite,  not  only  of  the  passage  of 
so  many  centuries,  but  even  of  the  exterminating 
wars  waged  against  the  Druids  by  the  Romans, 
and  against  the  Britons  generally  by  the  English. 
It  was  these  same  English  forefathers  of  ours  who 
tauofht  us  to  burn  the  Yule-los;  in  sacrifice  to  Thor 
the  Thunderer. 

Again,    there    can    be   little  question   that   the 
"well-dressing,"  or  decoration  of  springs  of  water 


HOLY  DAY  CUSTOMS.  27 

with  moss  and  flowers,  so  common  in  Derbyshire, 
had  its  origin  in  the  worship  of  the  nymphs  or 
goddesses  of  stream  and  river  ;  yet  now  in  almost 
every  case  it  has  become  part  of  the  celebration 
of  some  Christian  festival.  At  Tissington,  which 
claims  to  have  the  only  real  survival  of  the 
custom,  it  takes  place  on  Ascension  Day  ;  at 
Derby,  and  Wirksworth,  at  Whitsuntide ;  at 
Barton  on  the  Thursday  nearest  to  S.  John  the 
Baptist's  Day.  A  pagan  rite  still  existing  with- 
out Christian  "baptism,"  is  found  in  the  bon-fires 
that  yearly  crown  the  Cornish  hill-tops  on  the 
night  of  Midsummer  Day. 

Some  sports  and  games  were  in  the  past 
traditionally  associated  with  certain  church  festivals, 
for  reasons  which  in  most  cases  are  not  very  clear. 
In  Derbyshire,  particularly  in  the  county-town, 
and  in  Ashbourne,  Shrove  Tuesday  was  marked 
by  the  playing  in  the  streets  of  a  rough  and 
unorganised  game  of  football,  in  which  a  large 
part  of  the  populace  took  part.  School  children 
were  very  generally  supposed  to  have  the  privilege 
of  demanding  a  holiday  on  that  day,  or  even  of 
enforcing  one  by  locking  the  master  out  of  the 
school-house.  At  Haxey,  in  North  Lincolnshire, 
the    "  Haxey    Hood,"    is   always    thrown    on    the 


28  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Feast  of  the  Epiphany.  This  curious  sport 
consists  in  the  struggle  for  a  roll  of  coarse  sacking, 
about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  two  feet  long, 
known  locally  as  the  "hood,"  and  is  the  occasion 
of  much  wild  excitement.  This  is  said  to  have 
no  connection  with  the  holy  day,  except  that  it  is 
a  commemoration  of  some  local  contest  that 
chanced  originally  to  happen  on  that  day.  A 
similar  reason  is  given  for  the  fact  that  the  town 
of  Stamford  formerly  celebrated  S.  Brice's  Day 
with  the  brutal  sport  of  bull-running. 

Other  curious  customs,  such  as  the  cracking  of 
a  gad-whip  in  Caistor  Church,  on  Palm  Sunday,  by 
which  a  local  land  tenure  was  maintained,  and  which 
survived  until  1846,  were  evidently  associated, 
each  with  its  special  day,  by  a  merely  arbitrary 
arrangement,  having  no  allusion  whatever  to  the 
festival.  To  the  same  class  belongs,  perhaps,  the 
ceremony  of  washing  the  tomb  of  Molly  Grime, 
at  Glentham,  in  Lincolnshire,  by  seven  old 
spinsters,  every  Good  Friday.  This  was  regularly 
done  until  1832,  a  neighbouring  property  being 
charged  with  the  payment  of  one  shilling  each  to 
the  washers,  but  since  that  date,  the  tomb  has 
been  abandoned  to  a  condition  more  typical  of  its 
occupant's    name.      Another    strange    usage,    the 


HOLY  DAY  CUSTOMS.  29 

meaning  of  which  it  is  hard  to  conjecture,  was  the 
pinning  of  bits  of  coloured  rag  to  the  back  of 
the  women  on  their  way  to  church,  on  Palm 
Sunday,  a  sport  once  found  full  of  amusement  by 
the  lads  of  Leigh,  in  Lancashire. 

Another  class  of  holy  day  usages  consists  of 
endeavours  to  reproduce,  in  some  more  or  less 
realistic  manner,  the  fact  commemorated  by  the 
festival,  with  a  result  that  to  us  seems  grotesque 
at  times,  if  not  profane. 

Amongst  the  more  obvious  of  these,  we  must 
reckon  the  singing  of  carols  at  Christmas,  a 
memorial  of  the  angelic  hymn  heard  by  the 
shepherds  at  Bethlehem  ;  and  the  doll  laid  in  a 
decorated  box,  rudely  representing  the  Holy 
Child  in  His  manger-bed,  which  children  frequently 
carry  from  door  to  door  at  that  season.  The 
miners  of  Llwynymaen,  when  asking  for  Christmas 
gifts,  used  at  one  time,  it  is  said,  to  carry  boards 
to  which  lighted  candles  were  fixed,  in  allusion  no 
doubt  originally  to  the  coming  of  the  "  Light  of 
the  World." 

The  cruel  custom  of  stoning  a  wren  to  death  on 
S.  Stephen's  Day,  once  generally  prevalent,  is 
well-known,  and  was  an  obvious  endeavour 
after    commemorative  realism.       At    Padstow,    in 


3o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Cornwall,  the  same  scene  was  enacted  less 
objectionally  on  the  Eve  of  the  Conversion 
of  S.  Paul,  by  the  stoning  of  a  pitcher,  whence 
that  day  was  locally  known  as  "  Paul's  Pitcher 
Day." 

The  royal  offering  of  gold,  frankincense,  and 
myrrh,  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  S.  James's,  on  the 
Feast  of  the  Epiphany,  was  once  a  ceremony  of 
real  dignity,  but  is  now  rather  a  paltry  business, 
interesting  chiefly  as  one  of  the  most  curious  of 
survivals.  The  royal  charities  on  Maunday 
Thursday,  are  really  a  portion  of  an  otherwise 
lapsed  custom,  which  recalled  the  action  of  our 
Lord  on  the  day  before  His  Crucifixion.  Down 
to  the  reign  of  James  II.  the  king  attended  by 
some  of  the  great  officers  of  his  court,  washed  the 
feet  of  a  number  of  poor  people  on  this  day, 
and  then  distributed  money,  food,  and  clothing 
among  them.  The  lads  of  Kendal  have  a  different 
way  of  keeping  the  day  ;  in  parties  of  a  dozen  or 
so,  they  drag,  or  used  to  drag,  tin  cans  through 
the  streets,  beating  them  with  sticks,  until  they 
were  quite  demolished.  Can  this,  one  wonders, 
be  in  any  way  related  to  that  Good  Friday  custom 
of  Spanish  sailors,  the  beating  and  hanging  in 
effigy  of  Judas  the  Traitor? 


HOLY  DAY  CUSTOMS.  31 

An  old  Dorset  poet,  Barnes,  says,  referring  to 
a  well-known  Easter  custom  : 

"  Last  Easter  I  put  on  my  blue 
Frock  coat,  the  vust  time,  vier  new  ; 
Wi'  yaller  buttons  aal  o'  brass, 
That  glittered  in  the  zun  like  glass, 
Bekaze  'twer  Easter  Zunday." 

No  good  luck  can  attend  you,  so  the  belief  was, 
unless  you  wear  at  least  one  new  thing  on  Easter 
Day.  The  fancy  probably  arose  from  an  idea  of 
the  "  newness  of  life  ':  of  which  the  festival  speaks 
to  us.  Easter  eggs  again  were  obviously  used  at 
first  as  supplying  a  fitting  emblem  of  the  Resur- 
rection. As  a  rule  they  are  simply  treated  as 
pretty  ornaments,  but  at  Liege,  in  Belgium,  boys 
have  a  kind  of  game  with  them,  similar  to  an 
English  lad's  use  of  chestnuts,  knocking  two 
together  ;  the  boy  whose  egg  remains  unbroken 
the  longest  being  proclaimed  the  conqueror. 

The  subject  of  holy  day  practices  is  an  immense 
one,  especially  when  one  wanders  into  all  the  bye- 
paths  of  local  peculiarities.  All  of  them,  no  doubt, 
had  their  meaning  in  times  past,  and  therefore 
their  use ;  if  some,  having  now  become  un- 
intelligible or  even  foolish  forms,  drop  year  by 
year  into  disuse,  we  can  scarcely,  from  mere  love 


32  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

of  the  olden  days,  regret  them.  But  all  the  more 
tenaciously  should  we  cling  to  those  old  customs, 
which  have  still  a  living  soul  in  them,  still  a  lesson 
to  teach.  Our  forefathers,  with  their  ready  wit  in 
finding  means  for  impressing  truth  on  the  mind 
through  the  medium  of  the  eye,  showed  a  deeper 
knowledge  of  human  nature  than  some  of  their 
sons,  who  boast  so  freely  of  the  superior  wisdom 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 


Cburcb  Bells:  Wben  anfc  TOby  tbep  were 

'Rung. 

By  Florence  Peacock. 

BELLS  filled  a  much  more  important  place  in 
the  lives  of  our  ancestors  than  they  do  in 
ours.  From  the  time  that  Britain  became 
Christian  until  the  Reformation,  there  was 
scarcely  an  event  in  public  or  private  history 
into  which  they  did  not  enter — they  were  rung  to 
celebrate  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  the  rich  and 
noble,  they  were  heard  at  his  daughter's  marriage, 
and  the  marriages  of  his  dependants ;  they 
sounded  alike  for  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 
when  the  soul  was  passing  away  ;  and  again 
some  hours  after  death  had  taken  place  ;  as  well 
as  at  the  funeral.  On  these  occasions,  and  upon 
many  others,  it  was  the  universal  custom  to  ring 
them,  but  there  were  also  what  may  be  termed 
local  events  in  honour  of  which  they  were  chimed  ; 
these  differed  in  various  parts  of  the  country  ;  in 
many  cases  adjoining  parishes  followed  totally 
different  rules   in    this   respect.       Some   of  these 


34  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

customs  are  so  quaint  that  they  are  worth 
recording,  not  only  as  memorials  of  a  past  that 
we  can  but  dimly  enter  into,  but  as  throwing 
considerable  light  upon  the  manners  and  doings 
of  our  forefathers. 

As  far  as  we  are  aware  no  complete  collection 
of  these  old  usages  relating  to  the  ringing  of 
Church  Bells  has  ever  been  made,  though  there  is 
much  valuable  information  to  be  found  upon  the 
subject  in  the  various  books  upon  bells  which 
have  been  published  during  the  last  twenty-five 
years.  It  is  said  that  year  by  year  fewer  bells  are 
heard  to  ring  upon  the  twenty-ninth  of  May, 
but  "  Oak-apple  Day,"  as  it  is  still  called  in  many 
parts  of  England,  is  yet  celebrated  by  the  bells  of 
Swineshead,  amongst  other  places  ;  and  also  by 
sprays  of  oak  leaves  being  worn,  though  in  the 
northern  and  eastern  counties,  if  the  season  be  a 
late  one,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  obtain  them. 
Some  six  or  seven  years  ago  many  of  the  engines 
of  trains  running  upon  the  Manchester,  Sheffield, 
and  Lincolnshire  Railway  were  decked  with 
branches  of  oak  on  that  day ;  and  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  to  see  the  plough  boy  adorn 
the  heads  of  his  horses  with  sprays  of  oak  leaves 
in  memory  of  King  Charles's  escape.     There  is  an 


CHURCH  BELLS:  WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.       35 

entry  in  the  churchwardens'  accounts  belonging 
to  the  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Stamford  : — "  1709 
Pd.  Richard  Hambleton  for  ale  for  the  Ringers 
on  ye  29  May  .  .  .  00  06  00."  We  find 
three  years  later  the  ringers  at  the  church  of  All 
Saints  in  the  same  town  received  five  shillings  for 
ringing  the  bells  upon  the  twenty-ninth  of  May. 
At  Wadding-ton  it  has  been  the  custom  from 
sometime  which  is  now  forgotten  to  ring  one 
or  two  strokes  on  the  tenor  bell  to  publish  the 
fact  that  an  apprentice  belonging  to  the  parish  is 
"  out  of  his  time."  The  fifth  of  November  was 
a  day  of  general  bell-ringing  all  over  the  country, 
and  we  believe  they  are  still  sounded  in  many 
parts  of  England  to  call  to  mind  the  escape  of 
King,  Lords,  and  Commons  from  the  Gunpowder 
Plot ;  Guy  Fawkes  is  to  be  seen  burning  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  crackers 
and  bonfires  are  usual.  There  is  a  curious 
inscription  upon  the  second  bell  at  Owmby, 
commemorating  the  events  of  1605  ;  it  is  dated 
1687,  and  bears  upon  it : — 

"  Let  vs  remember  the  5  of  November." 

The    churchwardens'    accounts    of   S.     John    the 
Baptist  at  Stamford  contain  the  following  entry  : — 


36  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

"  1608     Item     paid     for      Rynging     the     vth     of 
November  vid." 

In  some  places  the  bells  are  rung  to  summon 
people  to  attend  the  vestry  meeting  which  is  held 
on  the  Monday  after  Easter  Sunday,  to  elect  the 
churchwardens  for  the  following  term  of  office,  to 
pass  the  church  accounts  for  the  year,  and  to 
transact  various  other  business  ;  this  is  done 
amongst  other  places  at  Bottesford  and  Epworth 
(the  latter  celebrated  as  being  the  birth-place  of 
John  Wesley,  the  former  for  possessing  the 
most  perfect  specimen  of  an  Early  English 
church  to  be  found  in  the  northern  part  of 
Lincolnshire). 

On  Shrove  Tuesday  it  was  the  general  custom 
in  pre- Reformation  times  to  call  the  people  to 
church,  that  they  might  confess  their  sins  before 
Lent ;  this  was  done  by  one  of  the  bells  being 
rung,  or  more  likely  tolled,  but  in  later  times 
the  real  reason  for  which  its  sound  was  heard 
has  been  forgotten  by  the  people,  and  where 
the  custom  has  been  kept  up  it  has  now  got 
to  be  called  "  The  Pancake  Bell,"  because  it  is 
usual  to  have  pancakes  upon  this  day,  the  last 
of  feasting,  before  the  fast  of  Lent  begins,  and 
Shrove  Tuesday  is  often   known  by  the  name  of 


CHURCH  BELLS:   WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.      37 

"  Pancake  Tuesday."  This  bell  is  rung  in  a  great 
many  places,  though  the  present  writer  never 
happened  to  hear  it  :  noon  is  the  usual  time 
for  it  to  be  heard,  and  at  Navenby  it  used  to 
be  rung  by  the  eldest  apprentice  in  the  place,  but 
this  part  of  the  custom  is  now  obsolete.  Our 
forefathers  believed  that  the  ring-ino-  of  church 
bells  had  the  effect  of  allaying  storms  ;  this  is 
illustrated  by  an  entry  in  the  Spalding  church- 
wardens' accounts: — "1519  It'm  pd.  for  ryngng 
when  the  Tempest  was,  iijd." 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  the  bells  were 
rung  on  the  fifth  of  August  to  celebrate  the 
escape  of  James  I.  from  the  Gowrie  Plot  ;  there 
are  charges  for  ringing  on  this  day  to  be  found 
in  the  churchwardens'  accounts  of  Kirton-in- 
Lindsey  at  various  times  during  the  seventeenth 
century.  In  the  same  parish  there  was  also  the 
custom  of  ringing  what  is  in  some  parts  of  the 
country  known  as  the  "Market  Bell,"  but  here  it 
was,  and  we  believe  is  still,  called  the  "Winter  Ring- 
ing," because  it  was  only  done  during  the  months 
of  November,  December,  and  January,  from  seven 
until  eight  o'clock,  on  Tuesday  and  Thursday 
evenings — on  the  former  night  to  guide  people 
home  who  had  attended  the  Gainsborough  market, 


38  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  upon  the  latter  to  aid  those  who  had  been  to 
Brigg  market  to  find  their  way  back  again.  This 
was  a  useful  precaution  when  the  country  was 
unenclosed,  as  the  sound  of  the  bells  told 
people,  when  they  were  going  in  the  right 
direction  ;  the  same  was  done  in  the  neighbouring 
parish  of  Scotton  on  the  Tuesday  night.  The 
custom  is  still  kept  up  at  Kirton-in-Lindsey 
during  November  and  December,  but  we  believe 
the  bells  are  not  heard  upon  these  two  evenings 
after  Christmas,  the  modern  idea  being  that  the 
ringers  are  practising  for  that  great  festival  of  the 
Church. 

Bells  very  often  had  names  bestowed  upon 
them  ;  there  is  one  in  St.  Mark's  Church, 
Lincoln,  always  spoken  of  as  "  Old  Kate,"  and 
"Great  Tom"  of  Oxford  has  a  world-wide 
reputation.  Many  old  bells  have  unfortunately 
been  sold,  in  some  cases  to  obtain  money  with 
which  to  repair  the  churches  ;  in  others  we  fear 
the  money  merely  went  into  the  pocket  of  the 
holder  of  the  living,  or  those  of  the  churchwardens  ; 
it  was  lor  the  former  reason  that  two  bells  at 
Cadney  were  parted  with  during  the  last  century. 
A  writer  in  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  in  1849 
(p.     158),    states    that    there  is  reason  to  believe 


CHURCH  BELLS:   WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.      39 

that,  since  the  death  of  Edward  VI.,  not  less  than 
four  hundred  bells  have,  from  one  cause  or 
another,  been  lost  in  Lincolnshire  alone. 

In  some  parishes  the  bells  are  rung  at  the  close 
of  the  morning  service  upon  Sunday,  and  at  Harps- 
well  it  was,  until  very  lately,  the  custom  to  ring  a 
bell  at  noon  if  by  any  chance  there  should  be  no 
morning  service.  It  is  popularly  said,  but  on  what 
authority  we  know  not,  that  this  bell  was  meant  to 
warn  those  who  were  preparing  dinner  that  the 
time  for  that  important  meal  had  nearly  arrived. 
The  custom  of  ringing  a  bell  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  morning  service  still  obtains  at  Kirkleatham. 
Inscriptions  upon  bells  are  very  common,  sometimes 
they  are  in  English,  but  on  the  older  bells  it  is 
more  usual  to  find  them  in  Latin.  There  is  a  bell 
at  Alkborough  which  is  believed  to  be  of  the  early 
part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  with  the  following 
inscription  upon  it  : — 

"  Jesu  For  Yi  Moder  Sake  Save  All 
Ye  Sauls  That  Me  Gart   Make 

Amen." 

At      Semperingham,     on    an     early    sixteenth 

bell,   there  is  to   be  found  a  very  useful  piece  of 

advice  : — 

"Be  Not  Ouer  Busie  ;" 


4o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  a  bell  at  Benniworth  merely  puts  on  record  the 
year  in  which  it  was  made  : — "  Anno  Domini 
1 577  ;"  it  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  thing 
to  find  only  a  date  upon  bells.  Many  of  them 
have  the  names  of  the  churchwardens  for  the  time 
being,  or  the  name  of  the  giver  of  the  bell  cr  bells  ; 
at  Burgh  we  find  : — 

"  William  Pavlin  chimed  so  well 
He  payd  for  casting  of  this  bell.     1589." 

Most  likely  he  was  one  of  the  ringers,  but  whether 
he  gave  the  bell,  or  only  paid  for  its  recasting,  we 
do  not  know.  In  certain  parishes  the  bells  are 
tolled  before  midnight  on  the  thirty-first  of 
December  for  the  dying  year ;  then  comes 
a  few  minutes  pause,  and  a  joyous  peal  heralds  the 
advent  of  the  new  year.  This  is  done,  amongst 
other  places,  at  Kirton-in-Lindsey;  the  writer  heard 
1893  tolled  out  and  1894  ushered  in  with  a  peal 
on  those  beautiful  bells  ;  and  we  know  that  it  was 
the  custom  there  in  1632,  for  we  find  under  that 
date  in  the  churchwardens'  accounts  : — "  Item  to 
the  ringers  of  new  yeare  day  morninge  xijd." 
The  church  of  this  parish  is  dedicated  to  S. 
Andrew,  and  in  1658,  there  is  an  entry  as 
follows  : — ■"  It'  to  the  ringers  on  St.  Andrewes 
day  o   1   o."     The  patron  saint  of  Scotland  seems 


CHURCH  BELLS:  WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.      41 

in  some  parts  of  England  to  be  held  in  high 
esteem ;  in  Lincolnshire  alone  there  are  no  less  than 
sixty-eight  churches  dedicated  to  him.  There  is 
a  curious  tradition  about  the  most  widely  known 
bell  in  Lincolnshire  ;  it  is  to  the  effect  that,  when  at 
the  recasting  of  "Great  Tom  of  Lincoln"  in  the 
Minster  Yard,  sometime  during  the  January  of 
16 10- 1 1,  that  certain  of  the  pious  citizens 
determined  to  do  all  that  lay  in  their  power  to 
make  the  tone  of  the  bell  as  pure  as  possible,  and 
therefore  threw  into  the  molten  mass  of  metal  much 
treasure  in  the  form  of  silver  tankards,  spoons, 
and  sundry  other  objects  formed  of  that  precious 
metal.  That  there  is  not  the  slightest  truth  in  the 
story  was  clearly  proved  when  the  bell  was  once 
more  recast  in  1834,  for  upon  apiece  of  the  metal  of 
which  it  was  composed  being  assayed,  it  was  found 
to  contain  a  very  small  proportion  of  silver.  It 
is  strange  that  this  belief  in  the  power  of 
silver  to  add  sweetness  to  the  tone  of  bells 
should  be  such  a  general  one  ;  we  find  it  existing 
in  almost  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  experiment  of  mixing  an  undue 
proportion  of  this  metal  has  always  been  found  to 
impair  their  sound.  The  writer  was  once 
informed  that  the  reason  the  bells  of  S.  Martins- 


.42  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

in-the-Fields,  London,  are  so  wonderfully  sweet 
and  clear  in  tone  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  Nell 
Gwynn,  who  gave  them  to  the  church,  insisted 
upon  having  a  quantity  of  silver  thrown  into  the 
metal  when  it  was  fusing.  Poor  pretty,  sinning 
Nell,  she  was  religious  after  a  manner,  and  she 
has  lain  in  S.  Martin's  Church  upwards  of  two 
hundred  years,  whilst  the  bells  she  gave  have 
sounded,  and  still  sound,  above  her  grave.  She 
left  a  bequest  to  the  ringers,  the  interest  of  which 
was  to  be  devoted  to  purchasing  a  leg  of  mutton 
for  them  to  sup  upon  every  Monday  evening. 

Sacring  bells  were,  it  is  believed,  to  be  found 
in  all  churches  before  the  Reformation  ;  they  were 
rung  to  inform  the  congregation  that  the 
Elevation  of  the  Host  was  about  to  take  place. 
There  is  some  difficulty  in  distinguishing  between 
this  bell  and  the  Sanctus  Bell,  they  seem  in 
many  cases  to  be  the  same,  and  in  others  separate. 
A  small  sacring  bell  was  discovered  in  Bottesford 
Church  (Lincolnshire)  during  its  restoration  in 
1870.  When  the  plaster  was  removed  from  the 
west  end  of  the  southern  aisle  it  was  seen  that  one 
of  the  stones  in  the  wall  was  merely  loosely 
placed  in  position,  not  built  firmly  in  like  the 
rest  of  the  masonry  ;  it  was  removed,   and  behind 


CHURCH  BELLS:   WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.      43 

it,  in  a  hole  evidently  made  on  purpose  to  receive  it, 
was  the  bell.    This  bell  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  a  full  description 
of   it    is    given    in  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries,  2nd  series,  vol.  5,  p.  24. 

There  was  formerly  a  small  bell  at  Hems  well, 
named  the  Agnus  Bell  ;  it  may  perhaps  have 
been  so  called  by  reason  of  its  being  rung  at  the 
Elevation,  which  was  immediately  followed  by  the 
singing  of  the  Agnus  Dei.      The  following  alludes 

to  it  : — "  Itm an   aomus   bell   Sfone   owtt  of 

the  fore  sayd  churche,  no  man  knoweth  how, 
ano  dome  a  thowssand  five  hundreth  three  schore 
and  fowre."# 

In  many  churches,  bells  and  other  articles  were 
returned  in  1566  as  lost  or  missing,  and  no 
reasonable  explanation  of  the  apparently  gross 
carelessness  o-iven.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt 
that  they  were  secretly  taken  away  in  order  that 
they  might  escape  destruction  ;  in  some  cases  it 
may  be  that  they  were  hidden  like  the  bell  at 
Bottesford,  but  it  is  probable  that  more  often  they 
were  taken  to  the  houses  of  the  people  who  saved 
them  ;  and  that  in  after  years  they  were  lost  or 
destroyed.       Under     Glenthworth,     there     is    an 

*  Peacock's  Church  Furniture. — p.  103. 


44  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

entry,  which  seems  to  point  to  the  fact 
that  the  bell  was  thus  disposed  of  "A  hand  bell 
—gone,  we  cannot  tell  how,  the  same  year," 
(1566).* 

It  seems  to  have  been  by  no  means  uncommon 
to  turn  these  small  hand  bells  into  mortars  ;  we  find 
this  was  done  at  Hemswell  in  1566  :  "ij.  hande 
belles,  sold  to  Robertt  Aestroppe  one  of  the  sayd 
churchwardens  to  make  a  mortar  off."t 

Queen  Elizabeth  ascended  the  throne  on 
November  17th,  1558,  S.  Hugh's  Day,  and  there 
are  many  entries  to  be  found  in  churchwardens' 
accounts  for  ringing  the  bells  upon  that  day 
after  this  date.  At  Kirton-in-Lindsey  there  is 
the  following  statement  in  1 581  : — "Item  for 
mending  the  belles  aganst  Sant  Hew  day  viijd;" 
and  then  again  in  1597  : — "  Item  vpon  Sante  Hue 
daye  viij."  No  doubt  the  first  entry  means  that 
either  the  wooden  framework,  or  else  the  cords 
of  the  bells  needed  some  slight  repairs  ;  it  could 
not  have  been  the  bells  themselves.  There  is 
another  entry  in  the  Kirton-in-Lindsey  accounts 
that  is  interesting,  though  of  a  somewhat  later 
date.  In  1630  we  find: — Item  bestowed  of  the 
ringers  in  ayle  for  Joye  of  the  younge  Prince  xij." 

*  Peacock's  Church  Furniture. — p.  85.  t  Ibid. — p.  103. 


CHURCH  BELLS  :    WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.      45 

This  was  for  ringing  the  bells  upon  the  birth  of 
Charles  II. 

In  reading  of  these  loyal  payments  one  is 
reminded  of  the  inscription  upon  the  first  bell  at 
Witham-on-the-Hill,  which  evinces  a  very  different 
spirit  : — 

"'twas  not  to  prosper  pride  or  hate 

William  Augustus  Johnson  gave  me  ; 
But  peace  and  joy  to  celebrate, 

And  call  to  prayer  to  heav'n  to  save  ye  : 
Then  keep  the  terms  and  e'er  remember 

May  29™  ye  must  not  ring 
Nor  yet  the  fifth  of  each  November 

Nor  on  the  crowning  of  a  king."* 

The  Harvest  Bell  was  rung  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  ;  at  Barrow-on-Humber  it  was  heard 
very  early  in  the  morning  at  daybreak  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  then  again  late  in  the 
evening-  durina-  the  weeks  of  harvest.  In  some 
parishes  it  used  to  be  the  custom  to  ring  a  bell 
at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  as  a  signal  that 
people  might  then  begin  to  glean.  In  the  Louth 
churchwardens'  accounts,  in  1556,  is  the  follow- 
ing : — "  To  william  east  for  knylling  the  bell  in 
harvest  forgathering  of  the  pescodes  iiijd."  The 
Daily  Telegraph,  of  1st  September,  1893,  says  : — 

*  English  Bells  and  Bell  Lore,  1888,  T.  North,  cp.  16,  p.  191. 


46  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

"  The  '  harvest  bell '  is  rung  at  the  Parish  Church, 
Driffield,  at  five  a.m.  and  eight  p.m.  every  day 
during  harvest,  the  custom  is  a  very  old  one." 

Advent  was  celebrated  in  some  places  by  the 
ringing  of  the  bells,  usually,  but  not  invariably,  in 
the  evening  ;  the  reason  for  this  being  that  the 
ringers  were  at  wTork  during  the  day,  and  therefore 
it  could  only  be  done  when  the  hours  of  labour 
were  ended.  On  S.  Thomas's  Day  the  bells  were 
often  rung ;  and  it  was  a  very  widely  spread, 
though  not  a  universal,  custom  to  ring  them  very 
early  on  the  morn  of  Christmas  Day.  In  the 
Kirton-in-Lindsey  churchwardens'  account  we  see 
what  the  ringers  obtained  for  so  doing  in  1630  : — 
"  It'  given  to  the  Ringers  at  Christenmaise  day  at 
morne  xijd."  The  bells  are,  or  were  until  lately, 
rune  at  five  o'clock  on  Christmas  morning*-  at 
South  Kelsey.  In  various  parts  of  England  they 
were  rung  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  during  Lent 
and  upon  Good  Friday  ;  on  Easter  Sunday,  too, 
there  has  always  been  great  divergence  as  to  the 
custom  of  bell-ringing.  The  Banns  Peal  is  still  to 
be  heard  in  some  places  ;  this  is  a  peal  rung  after 
the  publication  of  banns  of  marriage,  it  is  usually 
chimed  after  morning  service  on  the  first  Sunday 
that   the  banns   are   "put  up,"  but  this  is  by  no 


CHURCH  BELLS:    WHEN  AND  WHY  RUNG.      47 

means  the  universal  practice,  in  some  parishes 
it  is  rung  on  the  first  and  third  Sundays,  in  others 
on  the  third  alone,  and  it  varies  yet  again  at 
Elsham  and  Searby,  where  it  is  given  upon  all 
three  Sundays.  Peals  at  Baptism  are  much  rarer, 
but  still  there  are  parishes  where  it  has  been  from 
time  unknown  usual  to  ring  them.  The  curfew  is 
yet  to  be  heard  in  many  places,  though  the 
hour  varies,  it  being  often  rung  at  nine,  and  in 
some  instances  at  seven  o'clock,  instead  of  at 
eight. 

In  pre- Reformation  times  the  Passing  Bell, 
instead  of  being  rung  as  it  now  is  after  death, 
was  then  really  and  truly  a  "passing-bell,"  for  it 
was  heard  when  a  person  was  supposed  to  be  at 
the  point  of  death,  in  order  that  those  in  whose 
ears  it  sounded  might  of  their  charity  pray  for 
a  soul  so  soon  to  be  beyond  human  help.  After 
the  spirit  had  returned  unto  Him  who  gave  it,  the 
Soul  Bell  was  rung,  that  the  living  might  pray  for 
the  dead  ;  this  soul-bell,  besides  beine  rune  a  few 
hours  after  death,  was  sounded  again  at  stated 
intervals,  at  the  month's  end,  the  three  months' 
end,  and  so  on.  Surtees,  the  northern  antiquary, 
alludes  to  this  custom  in  the  ballad  of  Sir  John 
le  Spring : — 


48  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

"  Pray  for  the  soul  of  Sir  John  le  Spring, 

When  the  black  monks  sing  and  the  chantry  bells  ring. 
Pray  for  the  sprite  of  the  murdered  knight, 
Pray  for  the  rest  of  Sir  John  le  Spring. 

And  aye  the  mass-priest  sings  his  song, 

And  patters  many  a  prayer, 
And  the  chantry  bell  tolls  loud  and  long, 

And  aye  the  lamp  burns  there." 

There  are  numerous  ways  of  indicating  the  age 
and  sex  of  the  departed  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  passing-bell  is  tolled  ;  we  have  been  informed 
that  in  Lincolnshire  alone  there  are  between 
seventy  and  eighty  different  methods  by  which 
this  is  done. 

Some  few  bells  have  upon  them  inscriptions 
showing  they  were  meant  to  be  rung  as  passing- 
bells.       The    third    bell  at   Brant   Broughton  has 

on  it : — 

"  Beg  ye  of  God  your  soul  to  save 

Before  we  call  you  to  the  grave." 

It  is  possible  that  some  of  the  customs  here 
spoken  of  as  now  existing  may  recently  have 
fallen  into  oblivion,  but  the  term  "  existing  "  must 
only  be  taken  to  mean  that  it  was  in  use  at  the 
place  named  when  the  note  concerning  it  was 
made. 


3nscriptioii9  on  Bells. 

By  William  Andrews. 

TT  IGH  up  in  the  dusty  belfry,  whose  grey 
shadows  rarely  see  the  face  of  man,  the 
bells  swing  to  and  fro  with  unwearying-  zeal. 
But  in  addition  to  the  lessons  which  pour  from 
their  eloquent  mouths,  should  we  scale  the  tall 
ladders  of  the  bell  tower  and  invade  the  regions 
of  the  owl  and  the  bat,  we  shall  find  other 
teaching — that  graven  on  the  sides  of  the  bells 
themselves — the  inscriptions.  Let  us  therefore 
glance  over  the  wide  field  of  interesting  informa- 
tion thus  presented  to  us.  Allusions  to  the  pitch 
of  the  bell  are  often  the  subject.  A  bell  of 
Churchill,  Somerset,  has  the  following  : — 

Although  my  waiste  is  small 
I  will  be  heard  amainst  you  all, 
Sing  on  my  jolly  sisters. 

While  Berrow,  Somerset,  is  more  brief : — 

My  treble  voice 
Makes  hearts  rejoice. 

Bruton  has  a  recast  bell  saying — 

Once  I'd  a  note  that  none  could  beare, 
But  Bilbie  made  me  sweet  and  clear. 


50  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

And  similarly  Compton  Martin — 

My  sound  is  good  that  once  was  bad, 
Lett's  sing  my  sisters  and  be  glad. 

Badsrworth,  Gloucester,  has  a  similar  inscription — 

Badgworth  ringers  they  were  mad 
Because  Rigbe  made  me  bad, 
But  Abel  Rudhall  you  may  see 
Hath  made  me  better  than  Rigbe. 

At  Blakesley,  Northamptonshire,  the  tenor 
bears — 

I  ring  to  sermon  with  a  lusty  borne, 

That  all  may  come  and  none  may  stay  at  home. 

More  pronounced  is  the  self-congratulation  of  a 
bell  of  East  Dean — 

Me  melior  vere, 

Non  est  Campana  sub  aere, 

and  one  of  Hurstpierpoint,  which  says — 

If  you  have  a  judicious  ear 

You'll  own  my  voice  is  sweet  and  clear. 

Rye  Church,  in  Sussex,  alludes  in  its  bells  to  the 
marriage  chimes  induced  by  the  liberality  of  the 
bridegroom — 

In  wedlock  bands,  all  ye  who  join 

With  hands  your  hearts  unite. 
So  shall  our  tuneful  tongues  combine 

To  bless  the  nuptial  rite. 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  51 

At  other  times  it  is   the  shape  that  is  celebrated. 
At  Combe,  Somerset,  a  bell  says — ■ 

My  sound  is  good,  my  shape  is  neat, 
'Twas  Bayley  made  me  so  compleat. 

Or  the  size,  as  at  Bexhill,  Sussex — 

Although  I  am  both  light  and  small, 
I  will  be  heard  above  you  all. 

S.  Mary's,  at  Devizes,  has  another  version — 

I  am  the  first,  altho'  but  small, 
I  will  be  heard  above  you  all. 

Again,  names  of  donors  are  often  inscribed 
upon  bells,  and  these  are  handed  down  to  us  from 
very  early  dates  ;  or  sometimes  the  fact  of 
subscription  is  mentioned  in  general  terms  of 
gratitude.      So  Bagborough,  Somerset,  says — 

Bouth  owld  and  young  did  agree  full  well 
To  pay  for  casting  of  this  bell, 
Because  a  true  tale  it  should  tell. 

And  Bath  Abbey  has  a  very  terse  bell  couplet, 

All  you  of  Bath  that  heare  mee  sound 
Thank  Lady  Hopton's  hundred  pound. 

A  Devon  bell  has — 

Squire  Arundel  the  great  my  whole  expense  did  raise, 
Nor  shall  our  tongues  abate  to  celebrate  his  praise. 

These  hints,  or  downright  references  on  bells  to 


52  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

the  pecuniary  means  of  their  erection,  may  be 
supplemented  by  the  inscription  at  Buxted,  which 
promises  as  follows — 

At  proper  times  my  voice  I'll  raise 
And  sound  to  my  subscribers'  praise. 

But  in  the  last  two  centuries  such  expressions  of 

gratitude  for  subscriptions  to  casting  or  re-casting 

are    common    enough.       So    in    a    similar    strain 

speaks  the  bell  of  Alderton, 

I'm  given  here  to  make  a  peal 

And  sound  the  praise  of  Mary  Neale. 

At  Binstead,  too,  a  bell  says 

Dr.  Nicholas  gave  five  pound 

To  help  cast  this  peal  tuneable  and  sound. 

Bells  at  first  bore  strictly  religious  inscriptions  ; 
afterwards  that  rule  became  more  relaxed,  and 
irrelevant  matters  often  find  expression.  After 
1600  the  claims  of  relioion  to  be  alone  regarded 
on  bells  may  be  said  to  be  almost  entirely  passed 
over.  Marlborough's  victories  are  commemorated 
on  the  bells  of  S.  Helen's,  Worcester,  and  those 
of  Ottery  and  S.  Martin,  Exeter,  have  medals  on 
which  are  represented  grotesque  pieces  levelled 
at  the  churchmen  in  the  most  approved  style  of 
mediaeval    satire.       Sometimes,    nay,    most    often,. 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  53 

the  poetical  attempts  in  the  inscriptions  are,  to 
say  the  least,  somewhat  wanting  in  an  indefinite 
something  that  goes  to  make  true  poetry.  Yet 
the  simple  appeals  of  some  of  them  do  not  fall 
unregarded.  So  when  rich  men  give  bells  we 
find  such  an  inscription  as  this — 

Of  your  charite  prai  for  the  soulles  of  John  Slutter,  John 
Hunt,  and  Willem  Slutter. 

An  instance  has  been  ofiven  of  historical  events 
being  inscribed  upon  bells.  A  further  one  is  that 
of  the  bell  of  Ashover,  Derbyshire,  which  upon 
re-casting  was  inscribed — 

This  old  bell  rung  the  downfall  of  Buonaparte  and  broke, 
April,  1 8 14. 

At  Tadcaster  it  is  recorded  on  the  fifth  bell — 

It  is  remarkable  that  these  bells  were  moulded  in  the  great 
frost,  1783.     C.  and  R.  Dalton,  Fownders,  York. 

An  extremely  curious  inscription  appears  on  a 
bell  at  Pucknowle,  Dorsetshire,  dated  1629.  It 
reads  without  stop  or  space — 

Hethatvillpvrchashonovrsgaynemvstancientlatherstilmayn- 
tayne. 

"  Lather  "  is  an  old  English  term  meaning  "  to 
make  a  noise."  A  bell  at  Lichfield,  which  was 
destroyed  in  1652,  bore  the  following  : — 


54  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

I  am  ye  bell  of  Jesus,  and  Edward  is  our  King, 
Sir  Thomas  Heywood  first  caused  me  to  ring. 

Many     inscriptions     on     bells    are,     or    contain, 

allusions    to    the    vigilance    of    monastic    times. 

Such  is  one   at   Ashill,    Somerset,    which   simply 

says — 

I  call  to  wake  you  all. 

As  pithy  an  inscription  appears  on  the  bell  of 
S.    Ives,    which    is    rung    early    in    the    morning. 

It  is —  • 

Arise,  and  go  about  your  business. 

A  Coventry  bell,  dated  1675,  says — 

I  ring  at  six  to  let  men  know 

When  too  and  fro  their  worke  to  goe. 

Patriotic  expressions  are  common  ;  among  such  is 

Brusford, 

Come  let  us  ring 

For  Church  and  King. 

And  Hurstpierpoint, 

Ye  people  all  who  hear  us  ring 
Be  faithful  to  your  God  and  King. 

Sometimes  a  whole  set  of  bells  bore  inscriptions 
which  may  be  read  continuously.  An  instance  is 
at  S.  Mary's,  Ticehurst,  where  the  bells  have  — 

1.     I  am  she  that  leads  the  van, 
Then  follow  me  now  if  you  can. 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  55 

2.  Then  I  speak  next,  I  can  you  tell, 
So  give  me  rope  and  ring  me  well. 

3.  Now  I  am  third,  as  I  suppose, 
Mark  well  now  time  and  fourth  close. 

4.  As  I  am  fourth,  I  will  explain 

If  you'll  keep  time  you'll  credit  gain. 

5.  Now  I  am  fifth,  as  I  suppose, 
Then  ring  me  well  and  tenor  close. 

6.  This  is  to  show  for  ages  yet  to  come 

That  by  subscription  we  were  cast  and  hung 
And  Edward  Lulham  is  his  name 
That  was  the  actor  of  the  same. 

Northfield  bells,  Worcestershire,  give  an  account 
of  the  contest  in  the  vestry-room  which  led  to  the 
completion  of  the  peal — 

1.  Though  once  but  five  we  now  are  six. 

2.  And  'gainst  our  casting  some  did  strive. 

3.  But  when  a  day  of  meeting  there  was  fixed. 

4.  Appeared  nine  'gainst  twenty-six. 

5.  It  was  Wtti.  Kettle  that  did  contrive 
To  make  us  six  that  were  but  five. 

Another  bell  bears  the  date  and  churchwardens" 
names.  At  Coventry  on  a  peal  of  bells,  cast  in 
1774,  are  the  following  inscriptions — 

1.  Though  I  am  but  light  and  small 
I  will  be  heard  above  you  all. 

2.  If  you  have  a  judicious  ear 

You  will  own  my  voice  both  sweet  and  clear. 


56  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

3.  Such  wondrous  power  to  music  given, 
It  elevates  the  soul  to  heaven. 

4.  Whilst  thus  we  join  in  cheerful  sound, 
May  love  and  loyalty  abound. 

5.  To  honour  both  God  and  King 
Our  voices  shall  in  concert  ring. 

6.  Music  is  medicine  to  the  mind. 

7.  Ye  ringers  all  that  prize 

Your  health  and  happiness, 
Be  sober,  merry,  wise, 

And  you'll  the  same  possess. 

8.  Ye  people  all  who  hear  me  ring 
Be  faithful  to  your  God  and  King. 

9.  In  wedlock's  bands  all  ye  who  join 

With  hands  your  hearts  unite  : 
So  shall  our  tuneful  tongues  combine 
To  laud  the  nuptial  rite. 

10.     I  am  and  have  been  called  the  common  bell 
To  ring  when  fire  breaks  out  to  tell. 

On    the    bells    of    S.     Peter's,    Nottingham,    the 
appended  lines  appear  : — 

Our  voices  shall  with  joyful  sound 
Make  hills  and  valleys  echo  round. 

We  celebrate  th'  auspicious  morn 
On  which  the  Son  of  God  was  born. 

Our  voices  shall  in  concert  ring 
To  honour  God  and  King. 

The  bride  and  groom  we  greet  in  holy  wedlock  join'd, 
Our  sounds  are  emblems  of  hearts  in  love  combined. 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  57 

I  toll  the  funeral  knell, 

I  hail  the  festal  day. — 
The  fleeting  hour  I  tell, 

I  summon  all  to  pray. 

The  longest  continuous  bell  inscriptions  we  have 
noted  are  from  Bakewell,  Derbyshire,  and  on  a 
peal  of  eight  bells.      They  run  thus  : — 

1.  When  I  begin  Our  merry  Din, 

This  Band  I  lead  from  Discord  Free  ; 
And  for  the  Fame  of  human  Name, 
May  ev'ry  Leader  copy  Me. 

2.  Mankind  like  Us,  too  oft  are  found 
Possess'd  of  Nought  but  empty  Sound. 

3.  When  of  departed  Hours  We  toll  the  Knell, 
Instruction  take  &  spend  the  future  well. 

4.  When  Men  in  Hymen's  Bands  unite, 
Our  Merry  Peals  produce  Delight ; 

But  when  Death  goes  his  dreary  Rounds, 
We  send  forth  sad  and  solemn  Sounds. 

5.  Thro'  Grandsires  and  Tripples  with  Pleasure  men  range, 
Till  Death  calls  the  Bob  &  brings  on  the  Last  Change. 

6.  Wrhen  Vict'ry  crowns  the  Public  Weal 
With  Glee  We  give  the  merry  Peal. 

7.  Would  Men  Like  Us  join  &  agree 
They'd  live  in  tunefull  Harmony. 

8.  Possess'd  of  deep  sonorous  Tone 
This  Belfry  Ki.ig  sits  on  his  Throne ; 
And,  when  the  merry  Bells  go  round, 
Adds  to  &  mellows  ev'ry  Sound ; 


58  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

So  in  a  just  &  well  pois'd  State, 
Where  all  Degrees  possess  due  Weight, 
One  greater  Pow'r,  One  greater  Tone 
Is  ceded  to  improve  their  own. 

Durino-    a   recent    visit    to    Bakewell    church    we 

copied    an     epitaph     blending-    in    a    remarkable 

degree  business,  loyalty  and  religion  :  — 

To  the  Memory  of 
Matthew  Strutt. 
Of  this  town,  farmer,  long  famed  in  these  parts  for 
veterinary  skill.  A  good  neighbour,  and  a  staunch  friend 
to  Church  and  King.  Being  churchwarden  at  the  time 
the  present  peal  of  bells  were  hung.  Through  zeal  of  the 
House  of  God,  and  unremitting  attention  to  the  airy 
business  of  the  belfry  he  caught  a  cold,  which  terminated 
his  existence  May  25,  1798,  in  the  68  year  of  his  age. 

A  beautiful  Latin  inscription  has  one — a   Rutland 
bell— 

Non  clamor  sed  amor  cantat  in  aure  dei,  i.e.,  It  is  not 
noise,  but  love  that  sings  in  the  ear  of  God. 

And  it   is   in    the  same   county   that    we   find    the 
modern  use  of  the  death-bell  described, 

I  sound  not  for  the  souls  of  the  dead  but  the  ears  of  the 
living. 

Cheltenham,    too,    bears     out    the    spirit    of   this 
inscription  in  the  following" : — 

I  to  prayer  the  living  do  combine 

The  dead  shall  hear  a  greater  sound  than  mine. 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  59 

The  offices  of  the  various  bells  form  a  large  pro- 
portion of  their  legends,  particularly  those  uses 
which  are  the  most  common.  Thus  the  death  bell 
at  Axbrido-e,  Somerset,  states, 

For  homesoever  this  bell  doth  toll 
The  Lord  have  mercy  on  that  sole  ! 

Many  Somersetshire  bells  have  the  following  and 
similar  inscriptions  : — 

I  to  the  church  the  living  call, 
And  to  the  grave  I  summon  all. 

Brent,  Somerset,  has  a  bell  with — 

When  I  doth  toll  pray  mind  your  souls 

And  in  God  put  your  trust, 
As  may  be  well  with  you  at  last 

When  you  come  to  doust. 

And    Backwell,  in  the  same  county — 

I  sound  to  bid  the  sick  repent, 

In  hopes  of  life  when  breath  is  spent. 

A  bell  at  Stratton,  Cornwall,  is  shorter- - 

I  call  the  quick  to  church  and  dead  to  grave. 

A  bell  in  Ghent  describes  the  purposes  for  which 
it  was  used  :  it  is  not  an  uncommon  form  in  the 
Netherlands.      Translated  it  reads  : — 

My  name  is  Roelant ; 

When  I  toll  it  is  for  a  fire, 

When  I  swing  then  there  is  storm  in   Flanders. 


6o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Religious  sentiments  and  quotations  are  found 
in  thousands  on  bells  old  and  new.      Such  are — 
Te  deum  I.audamus. 

On  the  bell  at  Peterborough  Cathedral 

Venite  Exultemus  Domino. 

In  Westminster  Abbey 

Christie  audi  nos. 

Sometimes  a  letter  of  the  inscription  is  found 
inverted  ;  rarely  a  whole  word.  Such,  how- 
ever, is  the  case  at  Clapham,  in  Bedfordshire, 
where  the  line  runs — 

God  save  the  ipaniQ 

The  prayers  for  the  dead  mark  the  religious 
changes  of  the  country,  and  not  less  the 
invocations  to  the  saints,  which  form  one  branch 
of  bell  lore.      Elstead  has  a  bell  inscribed — 

Sancta  Paule,  ora  pro  nobis. 

Washington,  in  Sussex,  one  bearing — - 

O  Sancte  Stephane. 

And  Balcombe,  in  the  same  county,  one — 

Vox  Augustini  Sonat  in  aure  Dei. 

The  uses  to   which   bells  were  dedicated  may 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  61 

be    further    exampled     from     their     inscriptions. 
S.    Michael,   Coventry,   has  a  bell  bearing— 

I  am,  and  have  been  called  the  common  bell 
To  ring  when  fire  breaks  out  to  tell. 

And   at    Sherborne,    in   Dorsetshire,    dated    1652, 

a  bell  piously  says — 

Lord,  quench  this  furious  flame, 
Arise,  run,  help  put  out  the  same. 

We  may  here  appropriately  conclude  with  some 
lines  inscribed  upon  the  tower  of  Batley  Church, 
Yorkshire,  in  memory  of  a  former  set  of  bells  : 

"The  Requiem  of  the  late  three  bells  of  Batley 
Church,  two  of  which  were  introduced  into  the  tower 
in  the  17th  century,  and  the  third  or  last  in  the  iSth 
century,  and  were  taken  down  in  the  19th  century,  at 
the  close  of  the  year  of  our  Lord  1851,  bearing  the 
following  respective  dates  and  inscriptions,  viz.,  upon 
the  middle  bell:  Tho.  Deighton  G.  O.  1658;  largest 
bell,  1684  Gloria  in  Altissimis  Deo.  Ric.  Mann,  Church- 
warden ■  last  and  least  bell,  Dalton  of  York  fecit  1791. 
To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  Eternal  glory  raise. 

"  Author  of  the  following  lines,  Mr.  Luke  Blakeley,  of 
Upper  Batley  ;  third  of  that  name  in  the  family,  and 
nephew  of  Mr.  Luke  Blakeley  of  the  same  place,  who 
died  Jan.  17th,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1836,  and  was 
interred  in  Batley  Churchyard. 

"  One  hundred  years,  yea  almost  two, 
We've  hung  in  that  turret  grey, 


62  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

And  many  changes  we  have  seen 
As  time  has  fled  away 

We  seen  the  bride  and  bridegroom  gay, 
We've  chimed  their  joy  to  tell ; 

Alas  !   before  the  day  has  clos'd 
We've  toll'd  the  funeral  knell. 

We've  merrfly  rung  for  victories  gain'd 

O'er  Britain's  enemies  ; 
Then  mourned  for  the  brave  who  bled 

To  gain  those  victories. 

We've  highly  lauded  pomp  and  power, 
Then  call'd  on  men  to  pray, 

A  requiem  rung  with  the  weeping  and  sad, 
Then  revell'd  with  the  gay. 

We've  seen  the  scourge  of  civil  war 
Approach  where  we  have  stood. 

We've  seen  oppression's  cruel  hand 
Reeking  with  kindred  blood. 

Our  solemn  tolling  for  the  dead 
Falls  on  the  mourner's  ear, 

Then  the  bereav'd  and  aching  heart 
Feels  desolate  and  drear. 

Dirges  we've  rung  for  Kings  and  Queens 
As  they  to  the  tomb  went  down, 

Then  joyfully  welcom'd  the  heir 
Who  came  to  wear  the  crown. 

We  saw  the  star  of  Brunswick  rise 
And  beam  upon  our  strand, 

We  see  its  full  refulgent  ray 
Illumine  this  happy  land. 


INSCRIPTIONS  ON  BELLS.  63 

Victoria  the  sceptre  sways, 

And  bright  her  virtues  shine, 
Long  may  she  live,  long  may  she  reign 

Best  of  her  royal  line. 

We  joyfully  hail'd  her  natal  day, 

We  hail'd  her  to  the  throne, 
We  blithely  hail'd  her  nuptial  hour, 

For  her  we  ne'er  shall  moan. 

We're  taken  from  that  turret  grey 

Where  we  for  long  have  hung, 
Like  worn  out  lumber  thrown  away, 

Forever  mute,  each  tongue. 

And  now  our  changes  all  are  rung 

Here  ends  our  dying  song  ; 
Our  last  our  final  peal  is  done  : 

Farewell  !  Farewell  !   Ding  Dong."* 

*  At  the  bottom  of  the  plate  occurs  the  name  of  the  engravers,  Sellers 
and  Nelson,  Leeds. 


Xaws  ox  the  Belfry 

By  William  Andrews. 

THE  ringing  chambers  of  many  old  churches 
contain  curious  rules  in  poetry  and  prose 
for  regulating  the  conduct  of  the  ringer  and  the 
visitor.  Some  of  the  orders  are  extremely 
quaint,  and  all  appear  framed  as  a  ready  means  of 
obtaining  money  in  fines  to  be  spent  in  beer. 
In  bygone  times  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
close  connection  between  the  belfry  and  the 
cellar.  One  of  the  best  examples  which  has 
come  under  our  notice  is  from  Hathersage, 
Derbyshire,  and  dates  back  to  about  1660  :  — 

You  gentlemen  that  here  wish  to  ring, 
See  that  these  laws  you  keep  in  every  thing  ; 
Or  else  be  sure  you  must  without  delay, 
The  penalty  thereof  to  the  ringers  pay. 

First,  when  you  do  into  the  bell-house  come, 
Look  if  the  ringers  have  convenient  room  ; 
For  if  you  do  be  an  hindrance  unto  them, 
Fourpence  you  forfeit  unto  these  gentlemen. 

Next  if  you  do  here  intend  to  ring, 

With  hat  or  spur,  do  not  touch  a  string  ; 

For  if  you  do,  your  forfeit  is  for  that, 

Just  fourpence  down  to  pay,  or  lose  your  hat. 


LAWS  OF  THE  BELFRY.  65 

If  you  a  bell  turn  over,  without  delay, 
Fourpence  unto  the  ringers  you  must  pay  ; 
Or  if  you  strike,  misscall,  or  do  abuse, 
You  must  pay  fourpence  for  the  ringers'  use. 

For  every  oath  here  sworn,  ere  you  go  hence, 
Unto  the  poor  then  you  must  pay  twelvepence  ; 
And  if  that  you  desire  to  be  enrolled 
A  ringer  here,  these  words  keep  and  hold  ! 

But  whoso  doth  these  orders  disobey, 

Unto  the  stocks  we  will  take  him  straightway, 

There  to  remain  until  he  be  willing 

To  pay  his  forfeit  and  the  clerk  a  shilling. 

A  similar  set  of   rules  were  adopted  at  Chapel- 
en-le-Frith,  in  the  same  county. 

The  following  quaint  lines  are  from  St.  Peter's, 
Shaftesbury  : — 

What  musick  is  there  that  compar'd  may  be 
To  well-tuned  bells'  enchanting  melody  ? 
Breaking  with  their  sweet  sounds  the  willing  air, 
They  in  the  list'ning  ear  the  soul  ensnare, 
When  bells  ring  round  and  in  their  order  be, 
They  do  denote  how  neighbours  should  agree ; 
But  if  they  clam  the  harsh  sound  spoils  the  sport, 
And  'tis  like  women  keeping  Dover  Court. 
Of  all  the  music  that  is  played  or  sung 
There's  none  like  bells,  if  they  are  well  rung. 
Then  ring  your  bell — well  if  you  can, 
Silence  is  best  for  ev'ry  man  ; 
In  your  ringing  make  no  demur, 
Pull  off  your  hat,  your  belt,  and  spur ; 
And  if  your  bell  you  overset 

5 


66  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

The  ringer's  fee  you  must  expect ! 
Fourpence  you  are  to  pay  for  that. 
But  that  if  you  do  swear  or  curse, 
Twelvepence  is  due,  pooll  out  your  purse, 
Our  laws  are  old,  they  are  not  new, 
Both  clerk  and  ringers  claim  their  due. 

We     have    from    Tong,     Salop,    the   following 

curious  dated  example  : — 

If  that  to  ring  you  do  come  here, 
You  must  ring  well  with  hand  and  ear ; 
Keep  stroke  of  time  and  go  not  out, 
Or  else  you  forfeit,  out  of  doubt. 
Our  law  is  so  constructed  here, 
For  ev'ry  fault  a  jugg  of  beer. 
If  that  you  ring  with  spur  or  hat, 
A  jugg  of  beer  must  pay  for  that. 
If  that  you  take  a  rope  in  hand, 
These  forfeits  you  may  not  withstand. 
Or,  if  that  you  a  bell  o'erthrow, 
It  will  cost  sixpence  ere  you  goe. 
If  in  this  place  you  swear  or  curse, 
Sixpence  you  pay — out  with  your  purse. 
Come  !  pay  the  clerk,  it  is  his  fee, 
For  one  that  swears  shall  not  go  free. 
These  laws  are  old,  and  are  not  new, 
Therefore  the  clerk  must  have  his  due. 

George  Harrison,  1694. 

From   the   {belfry  of    Dunster,    Somersetshire, 
are  the  following  lines  : — 

You  that  in  ringing  take  delight, 
Be  pleased  to  draw  near  ; 


LAWS  OF  THE  BELFRY.  67 

These  articles  you  must  observe 
If  you  mean  to  ring  here. 

And  first,  if  any  overturn 

A  bell,  as  that  he  may, 
He  forthwith  for  that  only  fault 

In  beer  shall  sixpence  pay. 

If  anyone  shall  curse  or  swear 

When  come  within  the  door, 
He  then  shall  forfeit  for  that  fault 

As  mentioned  before. 

If  anyone  shall  wear  his  hat 

When  he  is  ringing  here 
He  straightway  then  shall  sixpence  pay 

In  cyder  or  in  beer. 

If  anyone  these  articles 

Refuseth  to  obey, 
Let  him  have  nine  strokes  of  the  rope, 

And  so  depart  away. 

The   foregoing  bears  the  date  of   1787.      We 
have  a  shorter  set  of  orders  from  Bowden  : — 

You  ringers  all,  observe  these  orders  well ! 
He  pays  his  sixpence  that  o'erturns  a  bell ; 
And  he  that  rings  with  either  spur  or  hat, 
Must  pay  his  sixpence  certainly  for  that ; 
And  he  that  rings  and  does  disturb  ye  peal, 
Must  pay  his  sixpence  or  a  gun  of  ale. 
These  laws  elsewhere,  in  ev'ry  church  are  used, 
That  bell  and  ringers  may  not  be  abused. 

It    is    stated    in     Halliwell's     "  Dictionary    of 


68  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Archaisms  and   Provincialisms"  gun   is  a   North 
country  word  for  a  large  flagon  of  ale. 

From   All   Saints'   Church,  Hastings,  we  have 
the  following  lines  :— 

I.  H.  S. 

i. 

This  is  a  belfry  that  is  free 
For  all  those  that  civil  be  ; 
And  if  you  please  to  chime  or  ring 
It  is  a  very  pleasant  thing. 

2. 
There  is  no  musick  play'd  or  sung, 
Like  unto  bells  when  they're  well  rung  ; 
Then  ring  your  bells  well,  if  you  can, 
Silence  is  the  best  for  every  man. 

3- 
But  if  you  ring  in  spur  or  hat, 
Sixpence  you  pay,  be  sure  of  that ; 
And  if  a  bell  you  overthrow, 
Pray  pay  a  groat  before  you  go. — 1756. 

Similar  verses  to  the  foregoing  we  have  seen 
in  several  places.  From  the  parish  church  at 
Grantham  we  have  the  following  example, 
dating  back  to  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  : — 

He  that  in  Ringing  takes  delight, 

And  to  this  place  draws  near, 
These  Articles  set  in  his  sight 

Must  keep  if  he  Rings  here. 


LAWS  OF  THE  BELFRY.  69 

The  first  he  must  observe  with  care 

Who  comes  within  the  door, 
Must  if  he  chance  to  curse  or  swear, 

Pay  Sixpence  to  the  poor. 

And  whosoe'er  a  noise  does  make, 

Or  idle  story  tells, 
Must  Sixpence  to  the  Ringers  take 

For  melting  of  the  Bells. 

If  any  like  to  smoke  or  drink, 

They  must  not  do  so  here, 
Good  reason  why — just  let  them  think 

This  is  God's  House  of  Prayer. 

Young  men  that  come  to  see  and  try, 

And  do  not  Ringing  use, 
Must  Six  Pence  give  the  company, 

And  that  shall  them  excuse. 

So  that  his  hat  on's  head  does  keep, 

Within  this  sacred  place, 
Must  pay  his  Six  Pence  ere  he  sleep ; 

Or  turn  out  with  disgrace. 

If  any  one  with  spurs  to's  heels 

Ring  here  at  any  time, 
He  must,  for  breaking  articles, 

Pay  Six  Pence  for  his  crime. 

If  any  overthrow  a  Bell, 

As  that  by  chance  he  may, 
Because  he  minds  not  Ringing  well, 

He  must  his  Six  Pence  pay. 

Or  if  a  noble  minded  man 

Come  here  to  Ring  a  bell, 
A  Shilling  is  the  Sexton's  fee, 

Who  keeps  the  church  so  well 


70  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

At  any  should  our  Parson  sneer, 

Or  Wardens'  rules  deride, 
It  is  a  rule  of  old  most  clear 

That  such  sha'nt  here  abide. 

The  Sabbath-day  we  wish  to  keep, 

And  come  to  church  to  pray ; 
The  man  who  breaks  this  ancient  rule 

Shall  never  share  our  pay. 

And  when  the  bells  are  down  and  ceased, 

It  should  be  said  or  sung, 
May  God  preserve  the  Church  and  King, 

And  guide  us  safely  home. 

In  September,    1875,  we  visited   Holy  Trinity 

Church,     Hull,     to     ascertain     if     any     Ringers' 

Regulations    were    to    be    found    in    the    church. 

We   learned,    on    enquiry,    a    number    of    quaint 

orders    were    hung    up    in    the    ringing    chamber 

some  years  ago,  but  a  mischievous  boy  mutilated 

them  with  a  knife,  so  that  they  were  taken  down. 

The  person  in  charge,  however,  kindly  submitted 

for  our  inspection  the  disfigured  orders,  and  after 

considerable    trouble,    we    were    able    to    make 

a     transcript     which,      we     think,      will      prove 

interesting  : — 

Orders. 

Agreed  upon  by  the  sexton  and  ringers  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
Church,  Kingston-upon-Hull,  approved  of  and  allowed  by  the 
Rev.  William  Mason,  vicar,  Mr.  George  Maddison,  and  Mr. 


LAWS  OF  THE  BELFRY.  71 

Thomas  Bell,  churchwardens,  of  the  same  church,  the  first  day 
of  May,  Anno  Domini  1730,  and  confirmed  by  the  Rev.  John 
Healey  Bromby,  vicar,  Thomas  Mitchell,  and  Charles  Anthy. 
Forrester,  churchwardens,  the  first  day  of  May,  1838. 

It  is  ordered,  that  every  person  who  shall  ring  any  bell  with 
hat  or  spurs  on,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  sixpence  for  the  use  of 
the  ringers. 

It  is  ordered,  that  every  person  who  shall  pull  any  bell  from 
off  hei  stay  and  cannot  set  her  again,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  for 
use  aforesaid,  one  shilling. 

It  is  ordered,  that  every  person  who  shall  throw  any  bell 
over,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  for  the  use  aforesaid,  sixpence,  and 
over  and  above  this  in  case  anything  be  broken  by  such 
overthrow,  such  person  shall  also  pay  the  charge  of  repairing 
the  same  again. 

It  is  ordered,  that  every  person  so  soon  as  he  has  set  his 
bell  shall  immediately  hank  up  the  strop  or  rope,  or  in  default 
thereof  shall  forfeit  and  pay  for  use  aforesaid,  sixpence. 

It  is  ordered,  that  if  any  person  shall  untruss  himself  upon 
the  lead  in  any  part,  or  cut  and  mark  the  same  with  a  knife  or 
any  other  thing,  such  offender  shall  forfeit  and  pay  for  the  use 
aforesaid,  sixpence. 

It  is  ordered,  that  any  person  who  shall  have  read  any  of 
these  orders  with  his  hat  upon  his  head  shall  forfeit  and  pay 
for  the  said  use,  sixpence. 

Next  appears  the  names  of  the  vicar,  church- 
wardens, ringers,  who  held  office  in  1730,  and  a 
similar  list  is  given  for  1838,  when  the  above 
orders  were  reprinted  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  W. 
Green,  a  sidesman. 

The    following    "  Articles    and    Orders    to    be 


72  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Observed  by  Ringers  "  at  Stow,  in  the  county  of 
Lincoln,  were  written  by  William  Swift,  school- 
master, and  used  to  hang  in  the  ringing  chamber 
of  the  church  : — 

All  you  who  hath  a  mind  to  Learn  to  Ring  s.    d. 

Must  to  the  sexton  Admission  Money  bring.  2     6 

These  Articles  observed  strict  must  be, 

Or  your  expelled  this  society. 

Two  Nights  a  Week,  Sirs,  you  must  meet,  or  pay 

This  Forfeiture  to  us  without  delay,  o     2 

Or  when  the  Sexton  for  you  tolls  a  bell 

You  must  appear,  or  else  this  Forfeit  tell.  o     2 

And  when  you  come  upon  this  Belfry 

If  that  you  noise  or  talk,  this  forfeit  pay,  o     1 

When  you  Round  peals  can  Ring,  you  must  pay  down 

To  be  a  change  man,  Sirs,  Just  half-a-crown,  2     6 

On  the  first  change  that  you  have  Learned  to  Ring, 

One  shilling  more  must  pay,  Sirs,  that's  the  thing,  1     o 

And  every  Ringer  must  spend  more  or  Less, 

As  he  thinks  meet,  to  wish  you  good  Success,  o     2 

If  you  would  learn  to  prick  a  peal  in  score, 

Unto  these  College  youths  you  must  pay  more.  1     o 

When  you  know  Bob,  Hunt,  Single  Dodge  compleat 

You'll  not  deny  our  College  youths  a  treat,  2     6 

On  our  Feast-Day,  the  Twenty-ninth  of  May, 

Each  member  must,  Sirs,  just  one  shilling  pay,  1     o 

When  our  accompts  are  passed,  Sirs,  for  Truth, 

And  you  are  stiled  a  College  youth, 

New  Stewards  then  are  chose,  and  by  and  by 

If  that  you  do  the  Stewardship  deny, 

Your  fine  must  pay — as  in  the  margin  see,  1     6 

Then  from  your  Stewardship  one  year  are  free. 


LAWS  OF  THE  BELFRY.  73 

These  Rules  peruse  well  before  you  enter, 

It's  a  hard  task  on  which  you  venture. 

When  once  a  member  you  are  freely  made, 

These  Articles  must  justly  be  obey'd. 

So  now,  my  Lads,  admission  money  bring,  2     6 

And  we  will  Learn  you  presently  to  ring. 

John  Marshall,         William  Smith, 
Master.  Notary. 

March  1st,  1770. 

The  following"  on  a  card  was  also  placed  in  the 
belfry  of  Stow  Church  : — 

We  ring  the  quick  to  church,  the  dead  to  grave, 
Good  is  our  use,  such  usage  let  us  have. 
Who  swears  or  curses,  or  in  chol'ric  mood 
Quarrels  or  strikes,  although  he  draws  no  blood, 
Who  wears  his  hat,  or  overturns  a  bell. 
Or  by  unskilful  handling  mars  a  peal, 
Let  him  pay  sixpence  for  each  single  crime, 
'Twill  make  him  cautious  'gainst  another  time. 
So,  when  the  bells  are  ceased,  then  let  us  sing 
God  bless  our  Holy  Church — God  save  the  Queen. 

The  foregoing  are  a  few  examples  of  the  many 
curious  ringers'  regulations  which  found  a  place 
in  belfrys  in  bygone  times.  Mr.  J.  Potter 
Briscoe,  in  his  "  Curiosities  of  the  Belfry " 
(London,  1883),  gives  a  complete  collection  of 
these  old-time  rules  in  prose  and  poetry. 


IRingers'   3ucts. 

By  Isaac  J.  Reeve. 

TH  E  old  time  belfry  laws  were  the  means  of 
many  persons  being  fined,  and  the  money 
so  obtained  was  spent  in  ale.  Ringers'  Jugs  were 
by  no  means  uncommon,  and  some  were  curious 
examples  of  the  potters'  art. 

There  is  a  curious  jug  or  pitcher  belonging 
to  the  ringers  of  Hadleioh.  It  is  a  "  vas 
ansatum  "  having  two  ears,  is  circular  in  shape, 
swelling  out  in  the  middle,  and  being  more 
contracted  at  the  ends.  It  is  brown  earthenware 
glazed.  It  holds  sixteen  quarts,  and  bears  this 
inscription,  very  rudely  indented,  apparently  with 
a  chisel  when  the  clay  was  soft,  the  first  word 
ME,  or  perhaps  M.  E.  I.,  is  in  italics,  the  rest  in 
Roman  capitals  : — 

Me,  Thomas  Windle,  Isaac  Bunn,  John  Mann,  Adam 
Sage,  George  Bond,  Thomas  Goldsborough,  Robert 
Smith,  Henry  West.  (No  doubt  the  names  of  the  eight 
ringers.) 

Below  the  names, — 

If  you  love  me  doe  not  lend  me, 
Euse  me  often  and  keep  me  clenly, 


RINGERS'  JUGS.  75 

Fill  me  full  or  not  at  all, 

If  it  be  strong,  and  not  with  small. 

Below  all,  in  the  front,  is  the  word  Hadly, 
underneath  one  handle  is  the  date,  17  F.  G.  15, 
and  under  the  other,  17  R.  O.  15,  the  letters 
probably  the  initials  of  the  potters.  The  jug  is 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Pettitt,  of  the  Eight 
Bells  Inn,  who  holds  it  for  the  ringers,  of  whom 
he  is  the  leader.  It  is  still  occasionally  used  on 
the  occasion  of  any  profitable  wedding,  and  filled 
every  Christmas  by  mine  host,  when  the  ringers 
assemble  for  a  frolic,  with  strong  beer,  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  old  King  William,  and 
strangers  going  in  are  expected  to  pay  sixpence 
to  assist  in  keeping  it  full,  according  to  its  own 
request. 

The  ringers7  pot — a  brown  glazed  jug  with 
handle,  holding  about  two  gallons — having  the 
following  inscription  in  rude  letters — 

Here  you  may  see  what 
I  request  of  Hanst  (honest)  Gentlemen 
My  Baly  (belly)  filed  of  the  Bast  I  com 
But  now  and  then,  17 16, 

was  formerly  carried  from  house  to  house  by  the 
bell-ringers  of  Ixworth,  in  Suffolk,  to  receive 
whatever  beer   the  liberal  parishioners  might  be 


76  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

disposed  to  bestow.  It  has  been  disused  about  thirty- 
years.  It  was  probably  made  at  the  celebrated 
pottery  in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Wattisfield. 
A  similar  kind  of  jug,  both  in  shape  and  size, 
to  that  of  Hadleigh,  belongs  to  the  ringers  of 
Clare.  On  one  side  is  a  crown  in  faint  relief, 
under  that  a  bell  in  large  proportion,  and  on  it 
impressed  in  italics  : — 

Campane 
Sonant  canore. 

Beneath  the  clapper  is  this, — 

Clare  Ringers, 
1729. 

Near  the  base  there  is  an  aperture  for  a  tap  to 

draw  off  the  beer,  there  being  no  spout  or  lip. 

At  Hinderclay,  in  Suffolk,  is  a  ringers'  pitcher, 

still    preserved    in    the    church    tower,    of   form 

and  size  similar  to  the   Hadleigh  jug  :    it  is  thus 

inscribed  : — 

By  Samuel  Moss  this  pitcher  was  given  to  the  noble 
society  of  ringers,  at  Hinderclay,  viz.,  Tho.  Sturgeon,  Ed. 
Lock,  John  Haws,  Ric.  Ruddock,  and  Relf  Chapman,  to 
which  society  he  once  belonged,  and  left  in  the  year  1702. 

From  London  I  was  sent 
As  plainly  doth  appear, 
It  was  to  this  intent — 
To  be  filled  with  strong  beer. 
Pray  remember  the  pitcher  when  empty. 


RINGERS'  JUGS.  77 

A  similar  pitcher  is  in  the  adjoining  church  tower 
of  Garboldisham,  Norfolk. 

At  the  Mackworth  Arms,  at  Swansea,  a 
similar  kind  of  jug  may  be  seen  in  a  niche  on 
the  staircase,  but  the  colour  is  light  yellow,  and 
the  workmanship  of  a  superior  order,  it  has  but  one 
handle,  and  the  following  inscription  in  two  lines  :■ — 

Come  fill  me  well  with  liquor  sweet,  and  that  is  good  when 

friends  do  meet, 
When  I  am  full  then  drink  about,  I  ne'er  will  fail  till  all  is  out. 

Underneath  were  representations  of  flowers,  birds, 
and  fishes. 

There  is  in  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  Museum 
a  large  jug,  which  was  presented  in  July,  1831, 
by  the  Rev.  G.  R.  Leathes,  of  Shrophan.  It  is  of 
brown  earth,  glazed,  dated  1676,  and  inscribed  : — 

John  Wayman, 
J.F. 
Come  Brother,  shall  we  join  ? 
Give  me  your  twopence — here  is  mine. 

This  most  likely  belonged  to  a  company  of 
Shrophan  ringers.  It  has  but  one  handle,  and 
is  rather  curiously  ornamented. 

Note. — This   article   was    written    about  twenty- 
five  years  ago. — Editor. 


Customs  anfc  Superstitions  of  Baptism. 

By  the  Rev.  Canon  Benham,  b.d.,  f.s.a. 

THE  present  paper  is,  of  course,  in  no  sense  a 
discussion  of  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
Baptism.  The  names  by  which  this  Sacrament 
has  been  called,  however,  express,  to  some  degree, 
the  views  which  have  been  taken  of  it  in  the 
Christian  Church,  and  these  names  must  be  briefly 
recounted.  One  of  the  earliest  titles  was  Indul- 
gentia,  "  remission  of  sin."  This  is  a  title  as  old 
as  the  third  century,  and  the  idea  has  found  ex- 
pression in  the  Nicene  Creed.  Palingenesia, 
"  new  birth,"  is  an  expression  equally  old.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  one  of  the  earliest  symbolical 
names  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  Ichthus, 
"  Fish  ; "  it  is  found  on  the  walls  of  the  Roman 
Catacombs.  Now  this  is  really  an  acrostic,  the 
letters  which  made  it  up  are  the  initial  letters  of 
the  sentence,  "Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God,  our 
Saviour,"  and  Tertullian,  the  first  writer  of  the 
Latin  Church,  says,  "We  are  fishes,  born  in 
water,  conformable  to  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  79 

Christ,  Ichthus."  Justin  Martyr  (middle  of  the 
second  century)  speaks  of  the  baptismal  water  as 
"  the  water  of  life,"  and  Cassiodorus  (fifth  century) 
calls  itfojis  divinus,  "the  divine  fountain,"  whence 
comes  our  name  "  Font."  S.  Chrysostom  and 
other  Greek  fathers  use  the  name  "  Illumination," 
(Pkotismos,)  and  S.  Augustine  calls  it  Stilus,  "Sal- 
vation." as  he  calls  the  Lord's  Supper  "  Life." 
Another  word  was  Sphragis,  "Seal,"  because  it 
was  the  seal  of  a  covenant  made  between  God 
and  man.  This  title  is  as  old  as  the  second 
century.  The  same  idea  is  conveyed  in 
Augustine's  expression,  Character  Dominicus, 
"the  Divine,  i.e.,  stamp  mark." 

Baptism  was  rejected  by  some  of  the  early 
heretics,  chiefly  by  the  Gnostics,  who  asserted  that 
all  religion  lay  in  knowledge,  and  under  pretence 
of  exalting  spiritual  worship,  would  admit  of  no 
external  or  corporeal  symbols  whatsoever,  and  also 
by  the  Manicha^ans,  who,  holding  that  all  matter 
is  in  itself  evil,  consistently  rejected  the  religious 
use  of  water.  Some  early  heretics  also  objected 
to  the  use  of  water  only,  asserting  that  this  was  no 
better  than  the  baptism  of  John,  whereas  our  Lord 
was  to  baptize  also  with  fire,  and  they  seem,  while 
baptizing  with  water,  to  have  also  touched  the  ears 


8o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

with  fire.  Others,  by  some  chemical  art,  created 
an  appearance  of  fire  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
(Bingham,  iii.  414.) 

But  to  come  down  to  later  times,  there  are 
curious  records  which  tell  how  the  matter  used  in 
the  Baptismal  rite  was  not  always  water  as  it  is 
with  us.  A  letter  of  Pope  Gregory  to  Archbishop 
Sigurd  of  Norway  (a.d.  1241)  says  "Forasmuch 
as  we  learnt  from  you,  that  it  is  sometimes  the 
custom,  on  account  of  the  want  of  water,  for  infants 
in  your  country  to  be  baptized  in  ale,  we  hereby 
decree  that  as  according  to  the  Gospel  Doctrine, 
it  is  necessary  that  they  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  they  ought  not  to  be  accounted 
as  baptized  who  are  baptized  in  ale."  And  there 
are  Bulls  and  decrees  of  Councils  to  the  same  effect. 
In  Notes  and  Queries  (ii.  5,  524)  is  a  quotation 
from  an  unpublished  diary  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
telling  how  "at  Prestone,  Aug.  30,  1574,  one 
Griffith  ap  Bedo  Du,  which  dwelt  at  Pilleth,  at  the 
christening  of  his  son  would  not  have  the  same  to 
be  christened  as  the  manner  is,  in  water,  but  upon 
a  proud  stomach  caused  the  water  to  be  voided 
out  of  the  font,  and  filled  it  with  wine,  and  so 
caused  his  son  to  be  therein  christened."  And  the 
diarist  goes  on  to  say  that  all  the  country  round 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  8r 

noted  from  that  time  that  "he  and  his  continued 
to  grow  to  decav  in  substance  and  credit  until  his 
race  was  extinguished." 

Controversies    concerning     Infant    Baptism,    as 
well    as   concerning    Immersion    as    distinguished 
from  affusion,  or  pouring  water  upon  the  baptized, 
would  be  out  of  place  here.      The  latter  practice, 
rendered  necessary  in    our  northern  climate,   has 
led  to  the  use  of  the  font.      Nevertheless,  baptism 
by  immersion   is  not  unknown   in  the    Church  of 
England.       Under   the   Church   of  S.    Lawrence, 
Reading,  there   is   a   baptistery   under   the   pewTs, 
and  in  1866,  these  pews  were  temporarily  removed 
and  a  family  of  Quakers  were  baptized  in  it.      At 
Trinity  Church,  Marylebone  and  at  Scarborough, 
there   are    records    within    the   last   few  years   of 
adults    baptized    by    immersion.       In    the    parish 
church  of  Cranbrook,  in  the  Weald  of  Kent,  is  a 
curious  bath  for  immersion,  of  which  the  following 
is    the   history.      John    Johnson,  who    was    Vicar 
there  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  found 
on  entering  upon  the  incumbency  that  there  were 
many   of  his   parishioners   who   were   unbaptized, 
and  who,  though  they  were  desirous  of  attending 
his  ministry,  were  in  favour  of  being  baptized  by 
immersion.      The  Anabaptists  were  strong  in  that 


82  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

district  during  the  Commonwealth.  He  therefore 
resolved  to  meet  their  views.  There  was  a  flight 
of  steps  leading  up,  on  the  inside,  into  the  Parvise 
or  room  over  the  southern  porch.  At  the  top  of 
of  these  steps,  on  the  landing  so  to  speak,  he  con- 
structed a  deep  bath,  reaching  down  in  fact  to  the 
floor  of  the  church,  so  that  the  minister  could  take 
the  person  to  be  baptized  up  the  steps  and  there 
immerse  him.  This  charitable  concession  to  the 
convictions  of  his  people  is  still  to  be  seen.  I 
believe,  however,  that  there  are  only  two  records 
of  it  having  been  used  since  its  erection.  Similar 
baptisteries  are  to  be  seen  at  Ebbw  Vale,  Aberdare, 
and  elsewhere. 

The  Canons  of  the  Church  order  that  the  font 
shall  be  of  stone.  In  some  churches  may  still  be 
seen  a  small  vessel  of  plaster  or  earthenware,  in 
which  a  little  water  is  put  for  baptism,  so  as  to 
save  fillino-  the  font.  But  it  is  illegal,  and  is  now 
rarely  seen.  Bishop  Wilberforce,  wherever  he 
found  them  on  Visitations,  ordered  their  removal. 
In  the  case  of  private  baptisms,  some  clergy  keep 
a  basin  which  they  carry  with  them,  similarly  to  a 
pocket  Communion  set,  and  use  it  for  no  other 
purpose.  And  this  certainly  seems  the  more 
reverent  method.      Others  however  use  any  basin 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  83 

which  may  be  handy,  and  then  send  it  back  to  its 
ordinary  use  with  a  view  to  prevent  any  feeling  of 
superstition.  It  seems  from  the  following  passage 
in  Pepys's  diary,  that  the  clergy  were  in  the  habit 
of  performing  public  as  well  as  private  baptisms 
in  private  houses  : — 

"  Lord's  Day.  My  wife  and  I  to  Mr.  Martins 
where  I  find  the  company  almost  all  come  to  the 
christening  of  Mrs.  Martin's  child,  a  girl.  After 
sittino-  long,  till  the  church  was  done,  the  parson 
comes  and  then  we  to  christen  the  child.  .  .  . 
After  the  christening  comes  in  the  wine  and 
sweetmeats,  etc. 

A  statute  dating  from  the  time  of  Henry  III. 
runs  as  follows  : — "If  really  from  necessity  the  child 
shall  be  baptized  at  home,  the  water  on  account  of 
the  sanctity  of  baptism  shall  either  be  poured  into 
the  fire,  or  carried  away  to  the  church  to  be  poured 
into  the  Baptistery  and  the  vessel  shall  be  burnt  at 
the  same  time,  or  shall  be  depicted  to  the  use  of  the 
Church" 

One  of  the  most  confessedly  difficult  passages  in 
the  New  Testament  is  S.  Paul's  question,  "  What 
shall  they  do  who  are  baptized  for  the  dead?  If 
the  dead  are  not  raised  at  all,  why  then  are  they 
baptized  for   them?"    (1    Cor.    xv.    29).      Bingham 


84  CURIOUS  CHURCH    CUSTOMS. 

discusses  this  text  at  some  length.  Two  main 
lines  of  interpretation  have  been  followed  by  the 
various  commentators.  The  one  is,  that  there  was 
a  custom  among  some  of  the  early  heretics,  that 
when  anyone  died  without  baptism,  another  was 
baptized  in  his  stead.  S.  Chrysostom  says  that 
this  was  practised  among  the  Marcionites  with  a 
great  deal  of  ridiculous  ceremony,  which  he  thus 
describes: — "After  any  catechumen  was  dead, 
they  hid  a  living  man  under  the  bed  of  the  deceased, 
then,  coming  to  the  dead  man,  they  spake  to  him 
and  asked  him  whether  he  would  receive  baptism  ? 
And  he  making  no  answer,  the  other  answered  for 
him,  and  said,  '  He  would  be  baptized  in  his 
stead.'  And  so  they  baptized  the  living  for  the 
dead,  as  if  they  were  acting  a  comedy  upon  the 
stage  ;  so  great  was  the  power  of  Satan  in  the 
minds  of  these  vain  men.  Afterward,  when  any- 
one challenged  them  upon  this  practice,  they  had 
the  confidence  to  plead  the  apostle's  authority  for 
it."  Bingham  proceeds  to  reject  this  interpretation 
on  two  grounds  ;  ist,  that  it  was  superstitious  and 
delusive,  "  Any  Jew  or  Gentile  might  easily  be 
made  a  Christian  by  having  another,  after  his  death, 
baptized  for  him."  This  objection,  however,  is  not 
conclusive,  it  does  not  follow  that  S.  Paul  approved 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  85 

of  the  practice,  no  doubt  he  would  account  it  a 
superstition.  But  he  is  employing  the  argnmentum 
ad  homincm.  "What  do  these  people  mean  by 
their  practice  if  they  do  not  believe  in  a  re- 
surrection?" The  second  objection  is  more  cogent, 
viz.:  that  the  interpretation  in  question  was  not 
accepted  by  any  early   Christian   writer. 

The  other  line  of  interpretation  which  Bingham 
adopts,  shall  be  given  in  his  own  words.  "  But  S. 
Chrysostom  gives  a  much  more  rational  account  of 
the  apostle's  argument,  for  he  supposes  him  to 
refer  to  the  Catholic  custom,  of  making  every 
catechumen  at  his  own  baptism,  with  his  own 
mouth  declare  his  belief  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  by  repeating  the  creed  of  which  that  was  a 
part,  and  so  being  baptized  into  that  faith,  or  hope 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  And,  therefore, 
he  puts  them  in  mind  of  this  saying,  '  If  there  be 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  why  art  thou  then 
baptized  for  the  dead,  that  is,  the  body?  For, 
therefore,  thou  art  baptized  for  the  dead,  believing 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  that  the  body  may 
not  remain  dead,  but  revive  again.'  So  that 
'  baptizing  for  the  dead,'  is  an  elliptical  expression 
for  being  baptized  into  the  faith  or  belief  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.     And  so  I  think  Tertullian 


86  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

is  to  be  understood  when  he  says  in  opposition  to 
the  error  of  the  Marcionites,  "  That  to  be  '  baptized 
for  the  dead '  is  to  be  '  baptized  for  the  body,' 
which  is  declared  to  be  dead  by  baptism  ; — that  is, 
we  are  baptized  into  the  belief  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  both  whose  death  and  resurrection  are 
represented  in  baptism."  And  the  interpretation 
of  Epiphanius  comes  pretty  near  these,  when  he 
says,  "It  refers  to  those  who  were  baptised  upon 
the  approach  of  death,  in  the  hopes  of  the  re- 
surrection from  the  dead  ;  for  they  shewed  thereby 
that  the  dead  should  rise  again,  and  that  there- 
fore they  had  need  of  the  remission  of  sins,  which 
is  obtained  in  baptism."  The  same  sense  is  given 
by  Theodoret,  and  Theophylact,  and  Balsamon, 
and  Zonaras,  and  Matthew  Blastaras  among  the 
Greeks  ;  and  it  is  embraced  by  Bishop  Patrick, 
and  Dr.  Hammond,  as  the  most  natural  and 
genuine  exposition  of  this  difficult  passage  of  the 
apostle." 

The  use  of  Sponsors  in  the  administration  of 
baptism  dates  from  the  earliest  times.  Their 
duties  varied  according  as  the  baptized  person 
were  an  infant  or  an  adult.  For  the  most  part  at 
first,  parents  were  sponsors  for  their  own  children, 
and   it   was  the  exception   when   they    were   not. 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  87 

"The  extraordinary  cases,"  says  Bingham,  "in 
which  [the  baptized]  were  presented  by  others 
were  commonly  such  cases  where  the  parent  could 
not,  or  would  not,  do  that  kind  office  for  them  ; 
as  when  slaves  were  presented  to  baptism  by  their 
masters  ;  or  children  when  parents  were  dead, 
brought  by  the  charity  of  any  who  would  show 
mercy  on  them  ;  or  children  exposed  by  their 
parents,  which  were  sometimes  taken  up  by  the 
holy  virgins  of  the  church"  (iii.  552.)  Sponsors 
for  children  were  called  on,  1st,  to  answer  in  their 
name  to  all  the  interrogatories  of  baptism  ;  2nd,  to 
be  guardian  of  their  spiritual  life  for  the  future* 
In  the  case  of  adults  their  duty  was  to  admonish 
and  instruct  them  both  before  and  after  baptism. 
Very  commonly  sponsors  for  adults  were  deacons 
or  deaconesses.  Only  one  sponsor  originally  was 
required,  in  the  case  of  adults,  a  man  for  a  man 
and  a  woman  for  a  woman.  For  children  there 
was  no  restriction  as  to  the  sex  of  the  sponsor. 

Sponsors  were  called  "  spiritual  parents,"  and 
out  of  this  relationship  grew  the  practice  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  forbade  sponsors, 
or  godparents,  from  marrying  within  the  forbidden 
degrees  of  spiritual  relation.  The  first  notice  of 
this  occurs  in  the  laws  of  Justinian,  which  forbid 


88  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

a  man  to  marry  a  woman,  whether  she  be  slave  or 
free,  to  whom  he  has  stood  godfather,  "  because 
nothing  induces  a  more  parental  affection,  or  juster 
prohibition  of  marriage,  than  this  tie,  by  which 
their  souls  are  in  a  divine  manner,  united 
together."  This  was  afterwards  extended  to  pro- 
hibition between  a  godfather  and  the  mother  of 
the  child,  and  the  prohibition  took  final  shape  in 
the  decrees  of  Trent,  which  further  forbid 
marriages  between  the  sponsors  themselves,  nor 
may  the  baptizer  marry  the  baptized.  A  host  of 
troubles  and  difficulties  are  on  record  in  the  pages 
of  history,  arising  out  of  these  prohibitions. 

It  is  uncertain  when  proxies  were  first  allowed. 
The  first  English  record  appears  to  be  the  case  of 
Jane,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Godfrey,  of  Grub 
Street,  who  was  baptized  at  S.  Giles",  Cripplegate, 
in  1615.  Mr.  Godfrey  kept  a  diary,  in  which  he 
writes,  "  My  gossips  were  Mrs.  Jane  Hallsye, 
wife  of  Mr.  John  Hallsye,  one  of  the  Citty 
Captains,  and  my  sister  Howlt,  and  Sir  Multon 
Lombard,  who  sent  Mr.  Michael  Lee  for  his 
deputy.  My  brother  Thomas  Isles  afterwards 
bestowed  a  christening  sermon  on  us." 

In  mediaeval  times  a  child  on  being  baptized 
was  arrayed  by  the  priest  in  a  white  robe,  which 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  89 

had  been  anointed  with  sacred  oil,  and  was  called 
a  Chrismale.  This  robe  was  called  the  Chrisom, 
and  if  the  child  died  within  a  month,  it  was 
shrouded  in  this  robe,  and  was  called  a  Chrisom- 
child.  Parochial  registers  very  frequently  have 
the  expression  applied  to  children  who  are  buried, 
and  it  will  be  remembered  by  readers  of 
Shakespeare.  Sometimes  the  cloth  was  called 
the  Christening  Palm.  Later,  say  a  hundred 
years  ago,  though  the  arraying  by  the  minister 
was  not  in  use,  a  newly  baptized  child  was  arrayed 
in  a  palm  or  pall  to  be  brought  down  to  see 
company. 

In  Perthshire,  it  is  said,  a  child  who  was 
about  to  be  privately  baptized  was  placed  in 
a  clean  basket  covered  over  with  a  cloth,  in  which 
was  placed  a  portion  of  bread  and  cheese.  The 
basket  was  then  hung  on  the  iron  crook  over  the 
fire,  and  turned  round  three  times.  It  was  to 
counteract  the  malignant  spells  of  witches  and 
evil  spirits.  Here  is  an  inventory  of  christening 
garments  of  the  seventeenth  century  (Notes 
and  Qtieries)  : — 

1.  A  lined,  white  figured  satin  cap. 

2.  A  lined,  white  satin  cap,  embroidered  with 
sprays  in  gold  coloured  silk. 


9o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

3.  A  white  satin  palm,  embroidered  to  match. 
Size  44  in.  by  34  in. 

4.  A  pair  of  deep  cuffs,  white  satin,  similarly 
embroidered,  trimmed  with  lace,  evidently  intend- 
ed to  be  worn  by  the  bearer  of  the  infant. 

5.  A  pair  of  linen  gloves  or  mittens  for  the  baby, 
trimmed  with  narrow  lace,  the  back  of  the  fingers 
lined  with  coloured  figured  silk. 

6.  A  palm,  54  in.  by  48  in.,  of  rich  still  yellow 
silk  lined  with  white  satin. 

According  to  Sarum  use,  yellow  was  the  altar 
colour  for  confessors'  festivals.  This  yellow  pall 
may  have  been  considered  specially  suitable  at  the 
child's  being  first  openly  pledged  to  confess  the 
faith  of  Christ  crucified.  Another  name  for  the 
christening  palm  is  the  christening  sheet  or 
"  cude  cloth."  This  is  a  superstition  that  if  it  is 
not  burned  within  a  year  of  the  child's  birth  it 
will  never  be  able  to  keep  a  secret. 

The  gift  of  "Apostle  Spoons"  by  sponsors  is 
said,  by  Stow,  to  have  originated  in  the  days  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  Shakespeare,  on  being  god- 
father to  one  of  Ben  Jonson's  children,  gave  him 
"a  dozen  of  Latten  spoons."  In  the  days  of 
James  I.  it  was  the  fashion  for  sponsors  to  give 
shirts  with  little  bands  or  cuffs  wrought  with  silk 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  91 

or  blue  thread,   but  this  did  not  last,    they  went 
back  to  spoons  or  cups. 

Brand  quotes  from  "  The  Comforts  of  Woo- 
ino- ";_"  The  godmother  hearing  when  the  child 
was  to  be  coated,  brings  it  a  gilt  coral,  a  silver 
spoon  and  porringer,  and  a  brave  new  tankard  of 
the  same  metal."  According  to  Shipman  the 
custom  of  making  presents  at  baptisms  declined 
in  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Pepys,  however,  observed  the  custom  : — "Nov. 
24th.  At  my  goldsmith's,  bought  a  basin  for 
my  wife,  to  give  the  parson's  child,  to  which  the 
other  day  she  was  godmother.  It  cost  me 
£10  14s.  besides  graving,  which  I  do  with  the 
cypher's  name,  Daniel  Mills." 

Christening  tongs  were  also  a  favourite  present, 
which  were  of  the  same  size  as  an  ordinary  pair 
of  sugar  tongs,  but  were  in  the  form  of  a  stork 
standing  upright  upon  the  claws  which  partly 
form  the  handle.  When  opened  for  the  purpose 
of  grasping  the  sugar,  the  body,  which  is  hollow, 
discloses  the  image  of  a  baby  in  swaddling 
clothes. 

This  no  doubt  originated  in  the  old  Teutonic 
fiction  that  newly-born  babes  were  brought  by 
storks. 


92  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Here  are  a  few  Scottish  notes  of  gifts  from 
the  child  to  its  parents.  They  are  all  from 
various  columns  of  Notes  and  Queries  : — 

In  1 87 1,  a  gentleman  was  met  in  one  of  the 
principal  streets  of  Edinburgh  by  a  very 
respectably  dressed  female,  with  a  nurse  carrying 
a  child.  They  stopped  him,  and  the  former 
presented  him  with  a  paper  bag  containing  a 
biscuit,  a  bit  of  cheese,  and  a  bit  of  gingerbread. 
On  his  expressing  surprise,  she  said,  "Oh!  sir, 
it  is  the  christening-  bit." 

In  country  places  in  Scotland,  it  was  a  custom, 
now  nearly  exploded,  for  the  mother  on  the 
way  to  baptism  to  take  a  supply  of  bread  and 
cheese,  a  "  whang  "  or  slice  of  which  she  gave 
to  the  first  person  she  met  on  the  country  road 
after  leaving  church,  and  it  was  accounted  a  high 
insult  to  refuse  it.  Probably  the  provision  was 
part  of  the  "  blythe  "  meat  presented  to  the 
friends  in  the  house,  who  had  assembled  after 
the  birth  to  offer  congratulations.  Such  offerings 
may  perhaps  be  traced  to  the  period  when  the 
old  Romans  inhabited  the  Caledonian  regions. 

In  1855,  at  Candleriggs,  a  silver  coin  was 
given  in  return  for  the  eatables.  The  appearance 
of  copper  was,  if  possible,  to  be  avoided. 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  93 

In  Fifeshire,  before  starting  for  the  kirk,  the 
"christening-piece,"  consisting  of  shortbread, 
cheese,  and  oatcake,  was  made  up  into  a  white 
paper  parcel  tied  with  ribbon  ;  this  the  mother 
held  in  her  right  hand  as  she  left  the  house, 
and  presented  to  the  first  person  met  by  her, 
whether  stranger  or  friend,  gentle  or  simple. 
The  "christening-piece"  was  always  gladly 
accepted,  and  in  return  kind  wishes  were 
expressed  for  the  future  happiness  of  the  child. 

It  is  noticeable  that  at  the  other  end  of  Great 
Britain  we  have  the  same  idea. 

At  Looe,  in  Cornwall,  the  gift  was  generally 
a  small  cake  made  for  the  purpose,  and  called 
the  "christening  crib,"  crib  being  a  provincialism 
for  a  bit  of  bread.  At  Polperro,  three  miles  from 
Looe,  a  gift  termed  the  "  kimbly  "  was  also  made 
to  the  person  who  brought  the  first  news  of  a 
birth  to  those  interested  in  the  new  arrival. 

This  custom  was  still  practised  in  Devonshire 
in  1883. 

Where  children  are  brought  in  batches  to  be 
baptized,  as  is  often  the  case  in  large  towns, 
it  is  curious  to  note  that  superstitions  exist  about 
the  precedence  of  sexes,  though  in  different 
places  the  ideas  are  contrary.      Thus  in  the  North 


94  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

of  England  there  are  places  where  the  parents 
are  very  anxious  that  the  girls  should  be  taken 
first,  on  the  ground  that  otherwise  the  boys  will 
be  beardless.  In  Surrey  and  Worcestershire  the 
same  desire  is  expressed  ;  in  the  West  of  Scotland 
the  males  have  precedence.  The  old  ideas  can 
hardly  be  classed  under  superstitions.  In  those 
churches,  where  now-a-days  ancient  rules  are 
revived,  Holy  Communion  is  always  administered 
to  men  before  women,  and  Confirmation  to  boys. 
Maskell,  in  his  Monumenta  Ritualia,  Eccl., 
Angl.,  1-23,  quotes  the  following  rubric  from 
Bishop  Leofric's  missal  : — "  Et  accipiat  presbyter 
eos  a  parentibus  eorum,  et  baptizantur  primi 
masculi  deinde  feminae,  sub  trina  mersione, 
Sanctam  Trinitatem  semel  invocando." 

Cases  are  on  record  where  a  cottager's  tenth 
child  was  christened  with  a  sprig  of  myrtle  in  its 
cap  to  mark  it  as  the  tithe  child  ;  it  is  said  that 
a  Rector  of  Compton  recognized  such  a  tithe 
child,   and  sent  him  to  school. 

One  of  the  silliest  and  most  mischievous  pieces 
of  legislation  was  the  Act  23,  George  III.,  c.  67. 
It  enacted  that  after  the  1st  of  October,  1783, 
stamp  duty  of  3d.  should  be  paid  to  His  Majesty  on 
the  entry  of  every  marriage,  birth,  or  christening, 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  95 

in  the  register  of  every  parish,  precinct,  or  place 
in  Great  Britain,  under  penalty  of  £5  for  each 
entry.  And  that  the  churchwardens  should 
provide  a  book  for  each  entry,  and  the  parson, 
vicar,  curate,  and  other  person  receiving  the  duty 
was  to  be  allowed  2s.  in  the  £  for  his  trouble. 
By  25  George  III.,  c.  75,  the  tax  was  extended  to 
dissenters.  People  were  furious,  and  the  poor 
parson,  who  was  supposed  to  be  charging  for  his 
own  benefit,  got  the  hardest  words.  The  Act 
was  repealed  by  34  George  III.,  c.  11,  the  tax 
ceasing  October  1st,  1794. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  put  together  a  few  odds 
and  ends  of  folk  lore.  In  Ayrshire,  in  the  end  of 
the  last  century,  when  a  child  was  taken  to  a 
distance  to  be  baptized,  a  quantity  of  salt  was 
placed  round  it  before  leaving  the  house,  to 
ward  off  evil. 

In  Worcestershire,  it  is  considered  that  if  an 
engaged  couple  stand  as  god-parents  to  the  same 
child,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  their  engagement 
will  never  end  in  marriage.  This  is  clearly  a  relic 
of  what  we  have  already  noticed,  the  mediaeval 
church  law  by  which  those  persons  who  stood  in 
any  spiritual  relationship  to  one  another  were 
thereby  debarred  from  contracting  marriage. 


96  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

In  Dalston,  Carlisle,  there  is  a  belief  that  if 
the  baptism  of  a  child  takes  place  after  it  has 
been  "  shortened,"  the  baby  will  not  only  be 
noisy  and  disagreeable  in  church  during  the 
administration  of  the  sacrament,  but  will  remain 
bad-tempered  and  ill-natured  for  ever  afterwards. 

The  belief  still  prevails  in  many  rural  districts 
that  children  dying  unbaptized  wander  in  woods 
and  solitudes  lamenting  their  hard  fate.  In 
Sweden  parents  will,  therefore,  carry  a  child 
miles  away  in  the  depth  of  winter  to  the  minister 
to  have  it  baptized  before  it  is  half-a-day  old. 
There  are,  however,  methods  by  which  it  is 
supposed  even  if  baptism  be  deferred,  that  the 
devil's  power  over  the  child  can  be  neutralized. 
One  is  to  wrap  it  in  red  cloth  and  lay  it  in  its 
cradle,  with  a  psalm  book  and  a  pair  of  scissors 
placed  crosswise  upon  its  breast. 

"In  presenting  a  child  to  the  minister,  its  head 
must  be  on  the  right  arm  of  the  male  parent." 
(West  of  Scotland). 

Brand  quotes  from  a  book  on  Scotland, 
published  in  1793,  the  statement  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Kirkwall  and  S.  Ola  would 
consider  it  as  an  unhappy  omen  were  they  by 
any  means  disappointed  in  getting  their  children 


CUSTOMS  OF  BAPTISM.  97 

baptized  on  the  very  day  which  they  had 
previously  fixed  in  their  minds  for  that  purpose. 

The  same  compiler  has  this  : — In  the  North, 
when  the  child  was  taken  to  church  to  be 
christened,  a  little  boy  was  engaged  to  meet 
the  infant  on  leaving  the  house,  because  it  was 
deemed  an  unlucky  omen  to  encounter  a  female 
first. 

It  is  supposed  to  be  lucky  for  children  to  cry 
at  baptisms,  as  if  they  are  quiet  and  good  then 
it  shows  they  are  too  good  to  live.  The  idea 
arose  from  the  custom  of  exorcism.  When  the 
devil  was  going  out  of  a  possessed  person  it 
cried  and  rent  him  sore  ;  therefore  the  tears 
and  struggles  of  the  infant  would  be  convincing 
proof  that  the  evil  one  had  departed.  In  Ireland, 
the  nurses  pinch  the  baby  rather  than  let  it  be 
silent  or  cheerful. 

In  Scotland  (to  quote  Brand  once  more),  on 
their  return  from  church,  they  take  the  newly 
baptized  child  and  vibrate  it  three  or  four  times 
gently  over  a  flame,  saying  thrice,  "  Let  the  flame 
consume  thee  now  or  never."  This  is  possibly 
derived  from  a  feast  called  Amphidromia,  held  at 
Athens,  by  private  families  on  the  fifth  day  after 

the  birth  of  the  child,  when  it  was  the  custom  of 

7 


98  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

the  gossips  to  run  round  the  fire  with  the  infant 
in  their  arms,  and  then,  having  delivered  it  to  the 
nurse,  they  were  entertained  with  feasting  and 
dancing. 

Another  Scotch  fancy  is  that  it  is  unlucky 
to  tell  the  names  of  infants  before  baptism. 

In  one  of  Dekker's  plays  (1630)  occurs  the 
following  : — I  am  the  most  wretched  fellow, 
sure  some  left-handed  priest  christened  me,  I  am 
so  unlucky. 

In  Greece,  while  the  father  is  alive,  none  of 
his  sons  are  baptized  with  his  name  ;  thus  a  father 
and  son  never  have  the  same  Christian  name 
at  the  same  time.  But  on  the  death  of  the 
father  it  is  customary  for  one  of  his  sons  to  adopt 
his  name.  The  eldest  son  always  bears  the 
name  of  his  paternal  grandfather  (a  common 
custom  in  Scotland),  even  though  the  latter  be 
alive.  On  the  other  hand,  for  the  obvious  reason 
of  identification,  an  illegitimate  son  always  takes 
the  baptismal  name  of  his  father.  It  is  probable 
that  this  practice  arises  from  a  belief  that  the 
father  would  die  on  giving  to  his  son  precisely 
his  own  name,  and  that  the  Greek  church  does 
not  allow  the  variation  of  a  second  Christian 
name. 


Marriage  Customs. 

By  England   Howlett,  f.s.a. 

IN  all  ages,  and  in  all  countries,  a  halo  of 
interest  attaches  to  the  marriage  ceremony, 
and  formerly,  when  superstition  was  so  rife  in  the 
country,  it  naturally  followed  that  all  sorts  of 
curious  customs  arose  in  connection  with  marriage 
— customs  which,  at  the  time  of  their  inauguration, 
were  full  of  meaning  and  real  interest,  but  many 
of  which  in  process  of  time,  and  owing  to  an 
altered  state  of  society,  have  fallen  either  into 
oblivion,  or  become  so  changed  as  to  be  hardly 
recognisable. 

Marriage,  in  one  form  or  other,  is  the  oldest 
institution  of  society,  and  the  source  of  its  most 
ancient  laws.  The  primitive  ceremonies  of 
marriage  are  of  immense  number,  and  many  of 
them  have  left  distinct  survivals  in  modern 
customs.  As  regards  Christian  Europe,  in  1085 
Hildebrand  declared  Marriage  to  be  a  sacrament 
of  the  Church  ;  and,  at  the  Reformation,  Calvin 
declared    it   to   be   an  institution    of   God.      The 


ioo  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

School  of  Grotius,  on  the  other  hand,  describes  it 
as  a  contract  of  partnership. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  marriage  ritual  was  for  the 
parties,  with  their  attendants,  to  come  to  the  porch 
of  the  Church  :  here  they  were  met  by  the  priest  ; 
first  he  blessed  the  ring  and  gave  it  to  the  bride- 
groom, who  placed  it  on  the  middle  finger  of  the 
bride's  left  hand.  After  this  the  priest  recited  a 
form  of  blessing  over  the  parties  ;  then  he  led 
them  into  the  Chancel  where  they  remained  while 
mass  was  celebrated,  towards  the  close  of  which 
they  received  the  solemn  nuptial  benediction,  and 
afterwards  the  Pax,  and  the  holy  communion. 

Before  the  Council  of  Trent  a  valid  marriage  in 
the  eyes  of  the  church  might  be  effected  by  a 
simple  declaration  of  the  parties  to  be  man  and 
wife  ;  no  witnesses  were  necessary  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, and  the  presence  of  a  priest  might  also 
be  dispensed  with.  It  will  at  once  be  seen  that  a 
practice  such  as  this  was  open  to  very  great  and 
o-rave  abuse  where  the  interested  parties  were 
only  too  often  the  only  witnesses  of  the  declara- 
tion. After  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  in  all 
countries  where  the  discipline  of  Trent  is  received 
and  promulgated,  the  presence  of  the  parish  priest 
is    absolutely     necessary     to     constitute    a    valid. 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  101 

marriage  in  the  eves  of  the  Roman  Church  by 
mere  declaration  of  the  parties  to  be  man  and 
wife,  and  under  no  circumstances  can  marriages 
such  as  these  be  recognized  by  the  law. 

It  was  customary  in  many  places  for  the  priest 
to  entwine  the  ends  of  his  stole  round  the  joined 
hands  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  at  the  words 
"Those  whom  God  hath  joined  together,"  in 
token  of  the  indissoluble  union  thereby  effected. 
Most  probably  this  practice  led  to  the  familiar 
expression  "Tying  the  knot."  Neither  the 
Roman  nor  the  Sarum  Missals  contain  any 
direction  for  this  ritual,  which  would  appear  to  be 
a  pure  innovation  on  the  part  of  the  priests. 

In  ancient  Rome  the  Patrons  or  Patricians  only 
mi'J'ht  marry  with  each  other.  If  a  Patrician 
married  a  client  or  vassal,  their  children  were  not 
allowed  to  take  Patrician  rank ;  because  these 
clients  or  vassals  had  not  connubium,  or  right  of 
marriage  with  their  Patrons.  Under  Caesar's  rule 
a  married  woman  wTas  allowed  the  use  of  more 
ornaments,  and  more  costly  carriages,  than  the 
laws  of  Rome  permitted  to  women  generally.  A 
married  man  who  had  three  children  born  at 
Rome,  or  four  born  in  Italy,  or  five  in  the 
provinces,    enjoyed   freedom    from   certain   duties 


io2  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  charges  :  this  no  doubt  was  done  to  encourage 
the  marriage  tie,  which  at  that  time  had  become 
exceedingly  lax. 

The  drinking  of  wine  in  the  Church  at 
weddings  is  enjoined  by  the  Hereford  Missal. 
The  Sarum  Missal  directs  that  sops  immersed  in 
wine,  as  well  as  the  liquor  itself,  and  the  cup 
containing  it,  should  be  blessed  by  the  priest. 
The  beverage  was  drunk  not  only  by  the  bride 
and  bridegroom,  but  by  the  rest  of  the  company. 
A  distinct  survival  of  this  custom,  although  in  a 
debased  form,  lingered  beyond  the  middle  of  the 
present  century,  at  Whitburn,  in  Durham,  where 
the  custom  of  giving  what  they  called  Hot-Pots 
was  kept  up  ;  that  is,  on  the  conclusion  of  the 
marriage  service  the  bride  and  bridegroom  were 
served  in  the  porch  with  steaming  compounds  of 
brandy,  ale,  sugar,  eggs,  spices,  etc.,  the  brides- 
maids also  partook  of  this,  and  the  remainder  was 
distributed  amongst  the  guests.  The  custom  of 
nuptial  drinking  appears  also  to  have  prevailed  in 
the  Greek  Church  :  and  the  Jews  have  a  custom 
at  the  present  day,  when  a  couple  are  married,  to 
break  the  glass  in  which  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom have  drunk,  to  remind  them  of  mortality. 

The  use  of  torches  at  weddings  is  very  ancient. 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  103 

At  Rome  the  practice  was  that  two  children 
should  lead  the  bride,  and  a  third  carry  before  her 
a  torch  of  white  thorn.  The  Greeks  used  also  a 
nuptial  torch,  which  was  carried  by  the  bride's 
mother.  Lamps  and  flambeaux  are  used  at 
Japanese  weddings,  and  torches  are  still  used  at 
Turkish  marriages. 

Knives  formerly  formed  part  of  the  accoutre- 
ments of  a  bride.  This  is  easily  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  anciently  it  formed  part  of  the  dress 
for  women  to  wear  a  knife  sheathed  and  suspended 
from  their  girdles.  A  bride  says  to  her  jealous 
husband,  in  Dekker's  Match  me  in  London,  1631: 

"  See  at  my  girdle  hang  my  wedding  knives  ! 
With  those  despatch  me." 

The  use  of  bridesmaids  at  weddings  is  of  remote 
antiquity.  Amongst  the  Anglo-Saxons  the  bride 
was  led  to  the  Church  by  a  matron,  who  was 
called  the  bride's  woman,  and  followed  by  a 
company  of  young  girls  who  were  called  brides- 
maids. It  was  at  one  time  the  custom  for  the 
bridesmaids  to  lead  the  bridegroom  to  Church, 
and  for  the  bridegroom's  men  to  conduct  the 
bride.  This  is  clearly  alluded  to  in  the  Colliers 
Wedding : 


i.o4  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

"  Two  lusty  lads,  well  drest  and  strong, 
Step'd  out  to  lead  the  bride  along : 
And  two  young  maids  of  equal  size, 
As  soon  the  bridegroom's  hands  surprise." 

The  bridegroom's  men  were  anciently  called  Bride 
Knights,  which  was  an  appropriate  name  at  the 
period  when  they  actually  fulfilled  that  office. 

Bride  cake  is  of  ancient  orio-in  :  it  is  a  relic  of 
the  Roman  period,  when  the  marriage  ceremony 
consisted  principally  of  the  contracting  parties 
partaking  of  a  cake  made  of  flour,  salt,  and  water, 
in  the  presence  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus,  or  High 
Priest,  and  ten  witnesses.  The  form  of  the  cake 
has  varied  in  different  ages.  Ben  Jonson  refers  to 
it  in  the  Tale  of  a  Tub,  iii.,  8  : 

"  The  maids  and  her  half-valentine  have  ply'd  her, 
With  courtise  of  the  Bride  cake  and  the  bowl, 
As  she  is  laid  awhile." 

As  feasting  was  connected  with  nearly  all  religious 
ceremonies,  and  as  each  feast  speedily  appropriated 
its  particular  article  of  food,  the  bride  cake  became 
inseparably  associated  with  the  bridal  feast. 
Anciently,  small  cakes  were  made  for  weddings, 
and  distributed  amongst  the  guests  ;  the  ingredi- 
ents of  these  doubtless  changed  from  age  to  age, 
but  there  is  little  doubt  the   cake   was   always   a 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  105 

sweet  one  which,  in  the  early  days,  would  be 
sweetened  with  honey  with  spices  in  it,  and,  after 
their  introduction,  currants.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  it  was  usual  for  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
to  kiss  over  the  cake,  and  many  are  the  super- 
stitions connected  with  it. 

It  was  formerly  the  custom  for  the  brides  to  go 
to  church  with  their  hair  hanging  loose  behind. 
Anne  Boleyn's  was  thus  dishevelled  when  she 
went  to  the  altar  with  Henry  VIII.  Webster 
refers  to  this  practice  in  77ie  White  Devil : 

"  And  let  them  dangle  loose  as  a  bride's  hair." 

Nuptial  garlands  or  wreaths  are  of  great 
antiquity  ;  they  were  equally  used  by  both  the 
Jews  and  the  Heathens.  The  Roman  custom 
was  for  the  bride  to  have  a  chaplet  of  flowers  or 
herbs  upon  her  head,  whilst  among  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  after  the  benediction  in  the  church,  both 
the  bride  and  bridegroom  were  crowned  with 
flowers.  In  the  Eastern  church  the  chaplets  used 
at  marriages  were  first  blessed  by  the  priest. 
Wreaths  made  of  ears  of  corn  were  frequently 
worn  by  brides  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII., 
and  myrtle  was  also  much  used  for  this  purpose. 
In  many  churches  it  was  usual  to  keep  a  crown  of 


106  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

metal  for  the  use  of  brides,  and  for  which  they 
would  pay  a  fee.  In  the  churchwardens'  accounts 
of  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  for  the  year  1540, 
is  the  following  entry: — "Paid  to  Alice  Lewis,  a 
goldsmith's  wife,  of  London,  for  a  serclett  to 
marry  Maydens  in,  the  26th  day  of  September, 
£3    10s.   od." 

Marriage  by  proxy  was  probably  practised  by 
the  heathen  Romans,  and  even  so  late  as  the 
middle  ages  was  not  at  all  uncommon,  although 
then  it  had  become  confined  principally  to  the 
aristocracy,  and  later  on  few  instances  are  to  be 
met  with,  except  in  the  case  of  Royalty.  Henry 
VIII.  married  Anne  of  Cleves  by  proxy.  So 
also  James  II.,  when  Duke  of  York,  in  1673,  was 
married  by  proxy  to  Mary  of  Modena.  The 
church  always  looked  with  great  disfavour  on  this 
form  of  marriage,  and  for  this  reason  the  parties 
were  generally  re-married  on  the  arrival  of  the 
bride  in  her  husband's  country,  or  at  the  home  of 
the  bridegroom. 

Amongst  the  ancient  Northern  nations  a  knot 
appears  to  have  been  considered  as  the  symbol  of 
love,  faith,  and  friendship,  pointing  out,  as  it 
were,  the  indissoluble  tie  of  affection  and  duty  ; 
hence  it  is  that  knots  or  bows  of  ribbon  came  to 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  107 

be  used  as  wedding  favours,  a  particular  form  of 
which  came  to  be  known  as  the  True  Lovers 
Knot.  The  peasantry  of  France  wore  the  bridal 
favour  on  the  arm,  whereas  in  England  it  was 
formerly  worn  in  the  hat,  and  consisted  of  ribbons 
of  various  colours  ;  in  later  years  white  ribbon 
alone  was  used.  Curiously  enough  Rosemary 
was  not  only  carried  at  funerals,  but  was  also 
worn  at  weddings,  and  appears  to  have  been 
considered  as  an  insignia  of  a  wedding  guest  :  on 
these  occasions  the  sprigs  of  Rosemary  were 
frequently  gilded,  or  dipped  in  scented  water. 
Bay  leaves  were  also  used  for  a  similar  purpose, 
but  not  so  generally  as  the  Rosemary. 

Wedding  rings  were  used  both  by  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  but  then  only  at  the  ceremony  of 
betrothal,  and  not  that  of  marriage.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  bridegroom  at  the  betrothal  gave  a  Wed, 
or  pledge,  and  a  ring  was  placed  on  the  maiden's 
right  hand,  where  it  remained  until  marriage, 
and  was  then  transferred  to  the  left.  During  the 
reigns  of  Georo-e  I.  and  George  II.,  the  wedding 
ring  was  often  worn  on  the  thumb.  The  placing 
of  the  ring  on  the  book  is  a  remnant  of  the 
ancient  custom  of  blessing  the  ring  by  sprinkling* 
Holy   Water  in   the  form  of   a  cross,  and  this  is 


io8  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

still  done  in  the  Roman  Church.  One  of  the 
earliest  forms  of  rings  was  the  Gemel,  or  double 
ring,  and  this  was  used  as  a  pledge  before 
marriage  :  they  were  generally  made  in  three 
parts,  and  broken  in  the  presence  of  a  witness, 
who  retained  the  third  part.  In  Germany, 
Sweden,  Norway,  and  Denmark,  it  was  a 
common  custom  for  the  engaged  couple  each  to 
give  to  the  other  a  plain  gold  ring,  much 
resembling  a  wedding  ring.  In  the  last  century, 
wedding  rings  were  frequently  inscribed  with 
poesys.  Dr.  John  Thomas,  who  was  Bishop  of 
Lincoln  in  1753,  married  four  times.  The  motto 
or  poesy  on  the  wedding  ring  at  his  fourth 
marriage  was  : — 

"  If  I  survive 
I'll  make  them  five."  * 

King  Henry  VIII.  gave  Anne  of  Cleves  a  ring 
with  the  poesy  : — 

"  God  send  me  well  to  keep." 

It  was  a  o-eneral  custom  in  the  middle  ao;e  for 
the  bridegroom  to  place  the  ring  first  on  the 
thumb  of  the  bride,  then  on  her  second  finger, 
and  then  on  her  third,  at  the  name  of  each  person 

*  See  EdwarcTs  History  and  Poetry  of  Finger  Rings,  Cap.  5,  p.  221. 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  109 

of  the  Trinity,  "leaving  it"  as  the  rubric  directs, 
on  her  fourth  finger  at  the  word  Amen ;  thus 
signifying  by  action,  not  less  than  by  word,  that 
he  was  undertaking  the  duties  of  the  married 
state,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  reason  assigned 
for  the  fourth  finger  being  appointed  as  the  final 
resting  place  of  the  wedding  ring,  is  because 
on  that  finger  there  is  generally  believed  to  be 
a  certain  vein  which  proceeds  to  the  heart.  The 
left  hand  most  probably  was  appointed  because 
the  virgins  espoused  to  the  church  wore  the 
ring  of  their  celestial  nuptials  on  the  right  hand. 

The  nuptial  kiss  was  a  solemn  ceremony  which 
was  duly  directed  both  by  the  Sarum  and  York 
Uses.  At  the  "  Sanctus,"  in  the  bridal  mass, 
both  the  bride  and  the  bridegroom  knelt  near 
the  altar  ;  if  neither  of  them  had  been  married 
before,  a  pall,  or  as  it  used  to  be  called,  the 
"care-cloth,"  was  held  over  them  at  its  four 
corners  by  as  many  clerics.  After  the  "  Pater 
Noster,"  and  just  before  the  "  Pax,"  the  priest 
turning  himself  towards  the  married  couple  gave 
them  the  nuptial  blessing.  The  care-cloth  was 
then  removed,  and  the  bridegroom  arose  from  his 
knees  and   received   the   kiss  of  peace   from   the 


no  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

priest  ;  he  then  turned  to  his  bride  and  kissed 
her  upon  the  cheek.  In  the  York  Use  the 
care-cloth  was  held  by  only  two  clerics. 
Although  the  solemn  ceremonial  of  the  nuptial 
kiss  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  a  regular  portion 
of  the  marriage  service,  still,  in  many  rural 
districts,  it  is  customary  for  the  bridegroom  to 
kiss  the  bride  while  they  are  before  the  altar,  and 
in  sight  of  the  congregation  assembled.  At 
Halse,  a  village  in  Somersetshire,  it  is  still  a 
recognised  custom  amongst  the  labouring  classes 
for  the  bridegroom,  after  he  has  placed  the  ring 
on  the  bride's  finger,  to  take  her  in  his  arms 
and  kiss  her  fervently,  and  it  is  a  somewhat 
remarkable  feature  that  instead  of  this  causing 
any  amusement  amongst  the  spectators,  it  is 
treated  as  a  solemnity,  and  would  certainly 
appear  to  be  a  distinct  survival  of  the  nuptial  kiss. 
A  similar  custom  still  prevails  at  Bishops  Lydeard, 
in  Somersetshire. 

There  is  a  rule  in  Hindoo  law  which  forbids  a 
younger  sister  to  be  married  before  the  elder  ;  nor 
is  a  younger  brother  allowed  to  be  married  before 
the  elder.  There  would  seem  to  be  a  curious 
resemblance  between  these  rules  and  the  rules  of 
the  Old   Testament  days,  when  Laban  refused  to 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS. 


in 


let  his  younger  daughter  marry  before  Leah.  We 
get  another  instance  of  a  restraint  on  marriage,  in 
1367,  when  the  memorable  Parliament  of  Kilkenny 
was  held,  which  passed  the  Statute  of  Kilkenny. 
By  this  statue  it  was  declared  high  treason  for 
any  person  of  English  origin  to  marry  into  an 
Irish  family. 

Poor  maidens  who  might  otherwise  lose  their 
chance  of  matrimony  for  want  of  a  dowry  were 
sometimes  provided  for  by  funeral  doles.  "  I 
will,"  says  Richard  Trowler,  a.d.  1477,  "that  X/. 
be  disposed  of  at  my  burying  among  poor  people, 
and  that  X/.  be  given  to  the  marriage  of  poor 
maidens  not  having  father  or  mother."  Johanne 
Beauchamp,  Lady  of  Btrgavenny,  devised  "  to 
the  marriage  of  poer  maydens  dwellyng  withyn 
my  lordship,  C/,  and  to  the  makying  and 
emending  of  febull  brugges  and  foul  weyes,  C/." 
There  certainly  seems  to  be  a  curious  analogy 
between  this  custom  and  the  laws  of  ancient 
Greece,  by  which  the  State  provided  a  dowry  for 
those  maidens  who,  through  poverty  or  plainness, 
would  otherwise  have  remained  unmarried. 

With  regard  to  the  seasons  for  celebratino- 
marriage,  the  Church  was  formerly  very  strict. 
The    parish    register    for    St.    Mary's,    Beverley, 


ii2  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

contains  the  following  entry  under  date 
November  25,  1641  : — 

"  When  Advent  comes  do  thou  refraine, 
Till  Hillary  set  ye  free  again, 
Next  Septuagessima  saith  thee  nay, 
But  when  Low  Sunday  comes  thou  may, 
Yet  at  Rogation  thou  must  tarrie, 
Till  Trinitie  shall  bid  thee  marry." 

The  above  appears  to  have  been  a  popular  verse 
to  inscribe  in  registers,  for,  with  slight  variations, 
it  is  to  be  met  with  in  several  parishes. 
Philomath's  Almanac,  for  the  year  1674,  contains 
similar  rules  in  prose  : — ■ 

"  Times  Prohibiting  Marriage  this  Year. 

Marriage  comes  in  on  the  13th  of  January,  and  at 
Septuagessima  Sunday  it  is  out  again  until  Low 
Sunday,  at  which  time  it  comes  in  again,  and  goes 
not  out  till  Rogation  Sunday.  Then  it  is  for- 
bidden until  Trinity  Sunday,  from  whence  it  is 
unforbidden  till  Advent  Sunday,  but  then  it  goes 
out,  and  comes  not  in  again  till  the  13th  of 
January  next  following." 

With  regard  to  the  publication  of  Banns  of 
Marriage,  it  appears  to  have  been  the  custom  in 
the  primitive  ages  that  the  Church  should  be  fore- 
warned   of     marriages.        The     earliest    existing 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  113 

canonical  enactment  on  the  subject  in  the 
English  church,  is  that  in  the  eleventh  canon  of 
the  Synod  of  Westminster,  in  the  year  1200, 
which  enacts  that  "no  marriage  shall  be  contracted 
without  banns  thrice  published  in  the  church, 
unless  by  the  special  authority  of  the  Bishop." 
Anciently,  before  the  publication  of  banns,  it  was 
the  custom  for  the  curate  to  affiance  the  two 
persons  to  be  married  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity; 
and  at  this  period  the  banns  were  sometimes 
published  at  Vespers  as  well  as  at  Mass. 

Forbidding  the  banns  of  marriage  is  now  a 
very  rare  occurrence  ;  formerly,  it  was  not  so,  and 
it  was  customary  to  interdict  a  marriage  some- 
times for  the  sole  purpose  of  making  a 
comparative  stranger  prove  his  bona-fides.  The 
parish  register  of  Frampton,  near  Boston, 
Lincolnshire,  contains  the  following  entry  on 
January,  1,  1653: — The  marriage  of  Edward 
Morton  and  Jane  Goodwin  was  objected  to  by 
John  Ayne,  Thomas  Appleby,  and  William 
Eldred  :  because  in  the  first  place,  the  said 
Edward  Morton  was  a  stranger,  and  they  did  not 
know  where  he  had  lived  until  a  short  time  before, 
or  whether  he   was  married  or  single  ;  therefore 

they  desired  the  marriage  might  be  deferred  until 

8 


ii4  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

he  brouo-ht  a  certificate  of  these  things.  And 
secondly  because  they  have  been  informed  and  do 
believe  that  he  is  a  very  poor  man,  and  therefore 
they  wish  him,  to  get  some  sufficient  man  to  be 
bound  with  him  to  secure  the  town  from  any 
charoe  of  him  or  his." 

An  interesting  custom  is  still  kept  up  at 
Laceby,  a  village  in  North  Lincolnshire,  where 
the  bells  ring  a  merry  peal  at  the  close  of  the  service 
in  which  the  third  publication  of  banns  has  taken 
place.  A  similar  custom  prevailed  at  North 
Kelsey,  in  Lincolnshire,  the  practice  there  being 
to  ring  the  peal  of  bells  on  the  Monday  evening 
after  the  last  publication  of  banns,  but  in  this 
latter  case  the  custom  appears  to  have  fallen  into 
disuse  many  years  ago.  Bells  frequently  bear 
inscriptions  relating  to  the  marriage  peals  ;  the 
fifth  bell  at  Coton-in-the-Elms,  Derbyshire,  dated 
1786,  has  inscribed  on  it  : — 

"The  bride  and  groom  we  greet 
In  holy  wedlock  joined, 
Our  sounds  are  emblems  sweet 
Of  hearts  in  love  combined." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  century  it  appears  to  have 
been  a  common  practice  in  most  parts  of  the 
country  for  the  clerk,  after  the  publication  of  the 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  115 

banns  of  marriage,  to  rise  and  say,  "God 
speed  them  well ; "  and  in  some  places  it  was 
usual  for  the  congregation  to  respond  "  Amen." 
At  Hope,  in  Derbyshire,  this  was  done  not  only 
on  the  publication  of  banns,  but  also  at  the 
solemnization  of  the  marriage,  immediately  after 
the  abjuration — ■"  I  require  and  charge  you  both." 
The  practice  has  fallen  into  the  same  oblivion 
which  has  overtaken  the  old  parish  clerk — at  one 
period  so  self-important  an  individual  in  the 
church,  and  now,  except  in  remote  villages,  so 
insignificant  an  official.  The  custom  appears  to 
have  lingered  for  some  time  at  Croxton  Kerrial, 
near  Melton  Mowbray,  and  at  Birkby,  a  village 
near  Northallerton. 

The  following  extract  from  the  parish  registers 
for  Chalgrave,  Bedfordshire,  for  the  year  1655, 
furnishes  an  instance  of  the  manner  in  which 
weddings  were  frequently  conducted  during  the 
Commonwealth,  in  pursuance  of  Cromwell's  Act 
of  Parliament,  August  24,  1653,  and  by  which 
the  presence  of  a  priest  was  entirely  dispensed 
with  : — "  Henry  Fisher  and  Sarah  Newson,  of 
Chalgrave,  published  three  severall  Lords  dayes 
in  one  psh  meeting  house  called  the  church  ended 
xxiijrd  of  Septb  and  no  exception  made  against  it, 


n6  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  the  said  Henry  Fisher  and  Sarah  Newson 
was  married  the  xxixth  Septb,  as  by  certificate 
doth  appear  by  Francis  Austeres  Esq,  and  in 
psents  of  Will  :  Martin  and  Abraham  Newson.'' 
In  the  parish  registers  of  Launceston,  Cornwall, 
is  the  following  entry  : — "  Hereaf"  follow  marriages 
by  laymen,  according  to  the  prophanes,  and 
giddynes  of  the  times  without  precedent  or 
example  in  any  Christian  Kingdom  or  Common- 
wealth, from  the  birth  of  Christ  unto  this  very 
year   1655. 

"  1655,  The  28th  daye  of  October  were  married 
by  John  Hicks,  Gent,  and  Maior  of  this  Town, 
John  Heddon  and  Mary  Harvey.  Their  banns 
being  published  in  the  Markett  Place  att  Laun- 
ceston three  severall  Markett  dayes,  viz.,  the  11th, 
the  18th,  and  the  25th  of  this  instant  October, 
without  contradiction. '"' 

The  following-  extract  from  the  register  of  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Bermondsey,  1604,  instances  a 
curious  custom  of  re-uniting  husband  and  wife 
who  had  been  long  separated  : — 

"  The  form  of  a  solemn  vowe  made  betwixt  a  man  and  his 
wife,  having  been  long  absent,  through  which  occasion  the 
woman  beinge  married  to  another  man,  took  her  again  as. 
followeth  : — 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  117 

The  Man's  speach.  Elizabeth,  my  beloved  wife,  I  am 
right  sorie  that  I  have  so  long  absented  myself  from  thee, 
whereby  thou  shouddest  be  occasioned  to  take  another 
man  to  be  thy  husband.  Therefore  I  do  now  vowe  and 
promise  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  this  companie,  to  take 
thee  again  as  mine  owne,  and  will  not  only  forgive  thee,  but 
also  dwell  with  thee,  and  do  all  other  duties  unto  thee,  as 
I  promised  at  our  marriage. 

The  Woman's  speache.  Raphe,  my  beloved  husband,  I 
am  right  sorie  that  I  have  in  thy  absence  taken  another 
man  to  be  my  husband  :  but  here,  before  God,  and  this 
companie,  I  renounce  and  forsake  him,  and  do  promise  to 
keep  mysellfe  only  unto  thee  during  life,  and  to  perform 
all  duties  which  I  first  promised  unto  thee  in  our  marriage. 

The  first  day  of  August,  1604,  Raphe  Goodchild  of 
the  parish  of  Barkinge,  in  Thames  Street,  and  Elizabeth 
his  wife,  were  agreed  to  live  together,  and  thereupon  gave 
their  hands  one  to  another,  makinge  either  of  them  a 
solemn  vowe  so  to  do  in  the  presence  of  us  : 

William  Steve,  Parson, 

Edward  Coker,  and  Richard  Eives,  Clerk." 

In  Germany  a  sect  of  the  Moravians  called 
Herrnkuters  have  a  most  curious  method  of 
selecting  their  life  partners  :  the  men  and  women 
of  a  marriageable  age  are  collected  in  a  house 
which  has  a  suite  of  three  rooms,  each  opening 
into  the  other,  the  young  men  in  one  end  room 
and  the  young  women  in  the  other ;  then  the 
doors  from  these  two  rooms  are  thrown  open  into 
the    middle    room,    which   is    perfectly  darkened. 


n8  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

After  this  follows  a  sort  of  o-eneral  scramble,  or 
"catch  who  can,"  and  whichever  girl  the  man 
catches  becomes  his  wife.  This  method  of 
selecting  a  wife  seems  somewhat  risky,  but  it 
is  possible  that  even  in  a  darkened  room  a  couple 
with  a  prior  attachment  might  manage  to  tumble 
into  each  other's  jarms,  and  so,  while  adhering  in 
the  letter  to  the  custom  of  their  sect,  bring  about 
the  union  dictated  by  their  hearts. 

The  throwing  of  an  old  shoe  after  a  newly- 
married  couple  on  their  departure  is  general  all 
over  the  country,  but  in  Kent  the  custom  is 
accompanied  by  a  little  more  detail  than  is  usually 
observed  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The 
principal  bridesmaid  throws  the  shoe,  the  other 
bridesmaids  run  after  it,  the  belief  being  that  the 
one  who  ^ets  it  will  be  the  first  to  be  married. 
She  then  throws  the  shoe  amongst  the  gentlemen, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  the  one  who  is  hit  will  also 
be  married  before  the  others. 

The  custom  of  showering  rice  over  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  is  a  universal  one,  although  in 
some  parts  wheat  is  substituted,  this  was  formerly 
general  in  Nottinghamshire  and  Sussex.  The 
practice  appears  to  find  a  parallel  in  Poland,  when, 
after  the  nuptial   benediction   has  been  given  by 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  119 

the  priest,  the  father  receives  the   newly-married 

couple  at  the  door  of  their  house,  and  strews  some 

barley  corns  over  their  heads.     These  corns  are 

carefully  gathered  up  and  sown.      If  they  grow  it 

is   considered  an  omen  that  the  married  pair  will 

enjoy   a   life   of  happiness.      Grain  of  any  sort  is 

symbolical    of   plenty,    and  no    doubt  at  different 

periods  and  in  different   countries  that  grain    has 

been  selected  which  could    be   procured  the  most 

easily.      An  old    Spanish   ballad  of  the  sixteenth 

century,  The  Cids  Wedding,  refers  to  the  custom, 

except  that  ears  of  wheat  appear  to  have  been 

used  instead  of  threshed  wheat  : — 

"  All  down  the  street  the  ears  of  wheat  are  round 
Ximena  flying." 

Weddine  Biddings  were  usual  down  to  the  end 
of  the  last  century  :  these  were  entertainments 
given  previously  to  the  wedding,  and  the  guests 
were  each  expected  to  bring  a  present.  An 
account  of  these  presents  was  preserved,  and 
it  was  expected  that  the  giver  should  receive  a 
gift  of  equal  value  on  their  own  marriage.  In 
Cumberland,  at  these  entertainments,  a  bowl  or 
plate  was  fixed  in  some  convenient  part  of  the 
house  where  each  of  the  company  contributed  in 
money  in  proportion  to  his   ability   or  inclination. 


iso  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

In  some  districts  the  bidding  was  publicly  done 
by  a  herald  with  a  crook  or  wand  adorned  with 
ribbons,  who  gave  a  general  invitation  according 
to  a  prescribed  form. 

Gretna  Green  was  the  invariable  resort  of  run- 
away couples,  owing  to  the  flaw  in  the  Old 
Scottish  law  which  required  nothing  more  than 
an  acknowledgment  before  witnesses  in  order  to 
constitute  a  valid  marriage.  The  Marriage  Act 
of  1856  has,  however,  rendered  such  unions  im- 
possible, for  by  its  provisions,  which  are  common 
to  both  countries,  it  is  necessary  that  one  of  the 
parties  shall  have  resided  for  at  least  twenty-one 
days  in  the  parish  where  the  marriage  takes  place. 
The  old  romantic  interest  once  attached  to 
Gretna  Green  is  now  fast  becoming  a  thing  of 
the  past. 

The  following-  extract  from  the  register  of  St. 
Martin's  Parish,  Leicester,  is  interesting  as  show- 
ing how,  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  a 
marriage  was  celebrated  in  a  case  where  a  bride- 
groom  was  deaf  and  dumb. 


& 


"Decimo  quinto  Februarii.  18.  Eliz.  :  reginas. 
Thomas  Filsby  and  Ursula   Russet   were   married  ;   and 
because  the  said  Thomas   is  naturally  deaf  and    dumb, 
could  not  for  his  part  observe  the  order  of  the  form  of 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  121 

marriage,  after  the  approbation  had  of  Thomas,  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  John  Chippendale,  LL.D.,  and 
Commissary,  and  Mr.  Richard  Davis,  of  Leicester,  and 
others  of  his  brethren,  with  the  rest  of  the  parish,  the  said 
Thomas  for  expressing  of  his  mind  instead  of  words,  of 
his  own  accord  used  these  signs  :  First  he  embraced  her 
with  his  arms,  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  put  a  ring  on  her 
finger,  and  laid  his  hand  upon  his  heart  and  held  up  his 
hands  towards  heaven  ;  and  to  show  his  countenance  to 
dwell  with  her  till  his  life's  end,  he  did,  by  closing  his 
eyes  with  his  hands,  and  digging  the  earth  with  his  feet, 
and  pulling  as  though  he  would  ring  a  bell,  with  other 
signs  approved." 

An  interesting-  feature  in  the  marriage  announce- 
ments  a  century  ago,  was  the  detail  given 
respecting  the  fortune  of  the  bride.  Matters 
which  now  we  regard  as  more  or  less  private  were 
then  openly  advertised  to  the  world.  William- 
sons Liverpool  Advertiser  for  1759,  contains  the 
following  notice  :  "  Liverpool,  May  25.  On 
Tuesday  last  was  married  at  Hale,  Dr.  Zachariah 
Leafe,  of  Prescot,  to  Miss  Martha  Clough,  of 
Halewood,  an  agreeable  young  lady  of  18  years 
of  age,  with  a  very  genteel  fortune."  The  Leeds 
Intelligencer,  for  July  3,  1764,  announces: — "On 
Thursday  last  was  married  Mr.  John  Wormald,  of 
this  town,  merchant,  to  Miss  Rebecca  Thompson, 
daughter     of     the     late — Thompson,     Esqr.,     of 


122  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Staincliffe  Hall,  near  Batley,  an  agreeable  young 
lady  with  a  fortune  of  upwards  of  ,£4,000." 
These  are  no  uncommon  instances,  and  almost 
any  newspaper  of  the  period  would  furnish  similar 
examples. 

It  was  a  common  custom,  down  to  about  1850, 
for  butchers'  boys,  in  their  blue  coats,  and  some- 
times also  with  a  large  white  favour,  to  attend  in 
the  front  of  houses  where  weddings  had  that  day 
taken  place,  and  play  on  their  cleavers  with 
knuckle  bones  ;  the  "  Butchers'  Serenade"  it  was 
called.  Hogarth,  in  his  delineation  of  the 
marriage  of  the"  industrious  apprentice  to  his 
master's  daughter,  introduces  a  set  of  butchers 
coming  forward  with  marrow  bones  and  cleavers. 

A  bridegroom  was  often  called  upon  to  pay 
toll.  It  was  a  Somersetshire  custom  for  the 
village  children,  on  the  occasion  of  a  wedding,  to 
fasten  the  churchyard  gates  with  a  wreath  of  ever- 
greens and  flowers  ;  a  floral  bond  which  always 
required  a  "  Silver  Key  "  to  unlose.  A  writer  to 
Notes  and  Queries,  in  January,  1858,  states  that 
on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage,  some  years 
previously,  when  passing  through  the  village 
adjoining  that  in  which  the  marriage  had  taken 
place,   his  carriage  was  stopped  by  the   villagers, 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  123 


holding-  a  band  of  twisted  evergreens  and  flowers, 
who  good  naturedly  refused  to  let  the  carriage 
pass  until  toll  had  been  paid. 

At  Burnley,  in  Lancashire,  an  old  custom  pre- 
vailed by  which  all  persons  married  at  St.  Peter's 
Church,  in  that  town,  paid  a  fine  to  the  boys  at 
the  Grammar  School  ;  the  money  thus  obtained 
being  applied,  according  to  the  records,  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  school  library.  This  custom 
appears  to  have  been  kept  up  down  to  the  year 
1870,  about  which  time  Burnley  Grammar  School 
was  rebuilt,  and,  on  its  re-opening,  the  practice  of 
paying  fines  to  the  boys  was  discontinued. 

It  is  a  common  saying  in  Lancashire  that  a 
bride  should  wear  at  her  wedding  :  — 

"  Something  old  and  something  new, 
Something  borrowed,  something  blue." 

This  saying,  and  the  practice  of  it,  is  common  in 
other  parts  of  England  ;  the  writer  knows  a  lady 
who,  when  married  at  Bedford,  five  years  ago, 
carried  out  the  couplet  to  the  letter  ;  on  this  same 
bride  being  brought  by  her  husband  to  his  home 
in  Lincolnshire,  at  the  end  of  the  honeymoon,  the 
custom  of  lifting  the  bride  over  the  threshold  was 
observed  ;  the  bride  and  bridegroom  got  out  of 
the  carriage  a  few  yards   from    the   house,  and  he 


i24  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

carried  her  up  the  steps,  and  into  the  hall.  This 
was  formerly  a  common  practice  in  the  North  of 
England,  and  in  Scotland,  and  is  the  remains  of 
an  old  Roman  custom  which  has  survived  the 
onslaught  of  time  and  change. 

It  was  an  old  custom  to  strew  the  path  from  the 
house  of  the  bride  to  the  church  with  sawdust  or 
sand,  and  so  recently  as  the  year  1876  a  "sawdust 
wedding  "  took  place  from  a  house  in  Sunderland. 
The  custom  would  originate,  no  doubt,  in  a  desire 
to  secure  a  clean  path  for  the  bride  to  walk  upon, 
and  this  was  often  ornamented  with  devices, 
which  would  be  easily  done  with  either  material. 

"  Keeping  the  doorstep  warm  "  was  a  custom 
practised  most  commonly  in  the  North  of  England. 
As  soon  as  the  bride  and  bridegroom  had  gone 
away,  and  the  old  shoe  had  been  thrown,  a 
servant,  or  sometimes  the  guests,  would  pour  a 
kettle  of  boiling  water  over  the  front  doorstep,  as 
an  auspice  that  there  would  soon  be  another 
wedding  from  the  same  house — keeping  the 
threshold  warm  for  another  bride  they  called 
it. 

In  these  prosaic  nineteenth  century  days,  there 
is  not  much  attention  paid  to  the  selection  of  the 
day  of  the  week  for  the  marriage  ceremony.     Our 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS.  125 

ancestors  had  many  proverbs  and  couplets,  all 
more  or  less  pointing  to  certain  and  the  same 
day,  to  avoid  or  select  for  the  event. 

Monday  for  wealth, 
Tuesday  for  health, 
Wednesday  best  day  of  all, 
Thursday  for  losses, 
Friday  for  crosses, 
Saturday  no  luck  at  all. 

The  practice  of  inserting  wedding  announce- 
ments in  newspapers  is  almost  universal,  and  the 
addition  of  "no  cards"  appears  as  often  as  not. 
Our  neighbours  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
have,  however,  quite  outdone  us  by  the  following 
addition  to  a  wedding  announcement  in  the  Quebec 
Morning  Chronicle,  of  November  7th,  1868  : — 
"No  cards.      No  Cake.      No  Wine." 


Burial  Customs. 

By  England  Howlett,  f.s.a. 

THE  burial  of  the  dead  furnishes  many 
instances  of  curious  customs,  some  of 
which,  with  modifications,  survive  to  our  own  day, 
while  a  large  number  have  become  entirely 
obsolete,  or  meaningless.  In  the  middle  ages 
especially,  it  naturally  followed  that  a  great  deal 
of  superstition  should  be  attached  to  death  and 
burial,  and  superstition  often  originated  a  custom 
which  survived  long  after  any  importance  was 
attached  to  the  origin. 

The  Egyptians  made  futile  attempts  to  preserve 
the  body  by  embalming — this  practice  originated 
no  doubt  in  the  opinion  which  it  was  said  they 
held,  that  so  long  as  a  body  remained  uncorrupted, 
so  lone  the  soul  continued  in  it.  The  Greeks 
usually,  but  not  universally,  burnt  their  dead,  and 
interred  their  ashes  in  urns.  The  actual  origin  of 
cremation  is  lost  in  obscurity,  most  probably  the 
primary  idea  was  the  purification  of  the  body  by 
fire.       It    is  supposed    the    early    practice  of   the 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  127 

Romans  was  to  bury,  but  their  later  practice  was 
to  burn,  and  cremation  was  held  by  them  in 
honour,  the  bodies  of  suicides  and  young  children 
not  being  allowed  to  be  burnt. 

In  ancient  times  burial  was  always  without  the 
walls  of  the  cities  and  towns  ;  indeed  before  the 
time  of  Christianity  it  was  not  lawful  to  bury  the 
dead  within  the  cities,  but  they  used  to  be  carried 
out  into  the  fields,  and  there  deposited.  About 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  St.  Augustine 
obtained  of  King  Ethelbert  a  Temple  of  Idols 
(used  by  the  King  before  his  conversion),  and 
made  a  burying  place  of  it  ;  and  Saint  Cuthbert 
afterwards  obtained  (a.d.  752)  leave  from  the 
Pope  to  have  yards  made  to  the  churches, 
suitable  for  the  burial  of  the  dead. 

In  the  ordinary  funerals  of  Christian  Anglo- 
Saxons,  the  corpse  was  simply  wrapped  in  linen, 
and  carried  to  the  grave  by  two  persons,  one 
holding  the  head,  and  the  other  the  feet  ;  the 
priest  then  censed  the  body,  and  whilst  it  was 
being  deposited  in  the  grave,  offered  up  prayers 
and  benedictions.  At  the  obsequies  of  persons 
of  distinction,  hymns  were  sung  by  the  attendant 
priests,  who  accompanied  the  body  in  procession. 
At  this  period  the  body  of  a  deceased  person  was 


128  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

always  watched  by  the  relatives  and  friends  from 
the  moment  of  death  to  the  time  of  burial  ;  the 
"  wake  "  of  the  present  day  being  the  survival  of 
this  custom. 

It  was  a  common  practice,  when  the  body  was 
embalmed,  to  take  out  the  heart  and  bowels,  and 
inter  them  in  a  different  church  to  that  in  which 
the  body  was  buried  ;  testators  sometimes  made  a 
request  in  their  wills  for  this  to  be  done.  The 
custom  appears  to  have  prevailed  from  the  twelfth 
to  the  eighteenth  century.  The  heart  of  Richard 
the  First  was  buried  at  Rouen,  his  bowels  at 
Chaluz,  and  his  body  at  Fontevand.  In  1838, 
the  King's  heart  was  discovered  under  the  pave- 
ment of  the  sanctuary  in  Rouen  Cathedral, 
enclosed  in  a  leaden  case,  with  the  inscription  : — 

Richard  Cceur  de  Lion. 
Due  de  Normandie.     Roi  D'Angleterre. 

Coeval  with  the  introduction  of  church  bells 
has  been  the  appropriation  of  one  of  them  to  the 
service  of  the  dying  ;  originally  this  bell  was  tolled 
when  one  was  yielding  up  life  in  order  that  all 
who  heard  it  might  offer  up  prayer  for  the 
departing  spirit,  and  after  death  another  bell  was 
rung,  called  the  "soul  bell."  The  "  Passing  Bell," 
as  it  is  now  most  inappropriately  called,  is  not  rung 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  129 

until  some  hours  after  death,  and  corresponds  more 
nearly  to  the  original "  soul  bell."  In  some  districts 
it  is  always  rung  exactly  twenty-four  hours  after 
death,  the  tenor  bell  being  used  for  an  adult,  and 
the  treble  for  a  child  ;  the  big  bell  is  generally 
reserved  for  funerals.  In  rural  districts  after  the 
"passing  bell"  has  tolled,  the  sex  of  the  deceased 
is  indicated  most  generally  by  tolling  twice  for  a 
woman  and  thrice  for  a  man,  to  this  is  often 
added  the  age  by  giving  one  toll  for  each 
year. 

In  the  middle  ages  it  was  customary  at  the 
funeral  of  any  great  person  to  have  his  horse  led, 
and  armour  borne,  before  his  corpse,  the  horse 
being  afterwards  claimed  as  a  mortuary  due  to 
the  church  at  which  the  burial  took  place  ;  the 
armour  was  either  reserved  for  the  next  of  kin  of 
the  deceased,  or  else  was  hung  up  in  the  church. 
No  doubt  much  of  the  armour  suspended  over 
tombs  is  mere  "undertaker's  trappings,"  although 
often  considered  genuine  and  of  antiquity. 

Over  the  tombs  of  bishops,  the  Episcopal 
mitre  and  pastoral  staff  was  sometimes  suspended, 
as  in  the  case  of  those  in  Winchester  Cathedral 
hanging  over  the  tomb  of  Bishop  Morley,  who 
died  in  1696  ;  and  of  those  in  Bromsgrove  Church, 


130  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Worcestershire,  suspended  over  the  Monument  of 
Dr.  Hall,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  who  died  in  1710. 

The  hearse,  so  often  mentioned  in  wills  and 
funeral  directions,  was  not  a  carriage  for  the 
conveyance  of  the  body  like  that  in  use  at  the 
present  day,  but  was  a  four  square  framework  of 
timber,  from  each  corner  of  which  rose  a  rafter 
slanting,  and  all  four  rafters  met  at  the  top ;  this 
was  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  at  the  funerals 
of  persons  of  distinction  was  set  up  for  a  time  in 
the  choir,  for  the  reception  of  the  body  during  the 
service  ;  it  was  surrounded  with  rails,  and  fringed 
and  ornamented  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
deceased.  Until  the  Reformation,  hearses  were 
garnished  with  numerous  lights  as  well  as  with 
pencils  and  escocheons,  but  with  the  change  of 
faith  the  lights  were  discontinued.  These  hearses 
were  introduced  about  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
they  continued  to  be  used  until  the  civil  wars  of 
the  seventeenth  century. 

In  Shropshire  there  is  a  custom  of  "  ringing  the 
dead  home,"  viz.  :  chiming  all  the  bells,  instead  of 
ringing  only  one,  while  the  funeral  is  on  its  way 
to  the  church.  When  the  procession  nears  the 
churchyard  gate  the  chiming  is  stopped  and  a 
minute  bell  is  tolled.      The  sexton's  fees  at  Much 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  131 

Wenlock,  as  laid  down  in  1789,  include  "a  chime 
if  required  before  the  funeral,  o  1  o."  At 
Hatherleigh,  a  small  town  in  Devonshire,  it  was 
the  prevalent  custom  to  ring  a  lively  peal  on  the 
church  bells  after  a  funeral,  as  elsewhere  after  a 
wedding". 

Even  in  the  present  day,  in  some  remote  rural 
districts,  and  especially  in  Hampshire,  the  practice 
still  prevails  of  leaving  open  the  outer  door  of  the 
house,  through  which  the  corpse  has  been  carried, 
until  the  mourners  return  from  church,  and  in 
some  places  the  custom  extends  also  to  the 
windows  ;  this  arises  from  a  superstition  that  if 
the  doors  or  windows  be  shut  there  will  certainly 
be  another  death  in  the  house  within  a  year.  In 
some  districts  there  is  a  belief  that  if,  when  the 
moment  of  death  approaches,  all  the  doors  and 
windows  of  the  house  are  opened,  the  spirit  will 
leave  the  body  more  easily. 

It  was  an  ancient  practice  to  put  an  hour  glass 
into  the  coffin  before  burial,  as  an  emblem  of  the 
sand  of  life  being  run  out.  Some  antiquaries 
are  of  opinion  that  little  hour  glasses  were 
anciently  given  at  funerals,  like  rosemary,  and  by 
the  friends  of  the  deceased  either  put  into  the 
coffin  or  thrown  into  the  grave. 


132  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

The  custom  which  still  prevails  of  sewing"  up  a 
corpse  in  flannel,  originated,  doubtless,  in  the  Act 
of  Parliament,  18  and  19,  Charles  II.,  which  was 
passed  for  the  encouragement  of  the  woollen 
trade,  and  required  all  bodies  to  be  buried  in 
woollen  shrouds ;  two  amending  statutes  were 
passed,  1678  and  1680,  requiring  at  the  funeral 
an  affidavit  to  be  delivered  to  the  priest  stating 
that  the  requirements  of  the  law  had  been  carried 
out ;  otherwise  penalties  were  incurred.  These 
acts  were  repealed  by  54  George  III.,  although 
long  before  that  time  the  penalties  for  non- 
compliance with  the  law  had  ceased  to  be 
enforced.  During  the  operation  of  the  acts  for 
burying  in  woollen,  the  law  was  sometimes 
evaded  by  covering  the  corpse  with  hay,  or 
flowers,  notification  of  which  is  sometimes  met 
with  in  the  parish  registers. 

Burial  in  armour  was  not  at  all  uncommon  in 

the    middle    ages,    and    was    considered    a    most 

honourable  form  of  burial.      Sir  Walter  Scott,  in 

"The    Lay    of    the    last    Minstrel,"    thus    refers. 

to  it  : 

"  Seem'd  all  on  fire  that  Chapel  proud, 
Where  Roslin's  Chiefs  uncoffin'd  lie, 
Each  Baron  for  a  sable  shroud 
Sheathed  in  his  iron  panoply." 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  133 

Clement  Spelman,   of   Narburgh,    Recorder    of 
Nottingham,     who    died     in     1679,    is     immured 
upright,  enclosed  in  a  pillar  in  Narburgh  Church, 
so  that  the  inscription  is  directly  against  his  face  : 
this  must  surely  be  a  solitary  instance  of  burial  in 
a  pillar,  although  there  are  many  other  instances 
of  burial  in  an  upright  position.      Thomas  Cooke, 
who  was  a   Governor  of  the    Bank  of  England, 
from  1737  to  1739,  and  who  had  formerly  been  a 
merchant    residing    in     Constantinople,    died    at 
Stoke  Newington,  12th  August,  1752,  and  by  his 
directions    his    body     was     carried     to     Morden 
College,  Blackheath,  of  which   he  was  a  trustee, 
it  was   taken   out   of  the  coffin,  and  buried  in   a 
winding  sheet  upright  in  the  ground,  according  to 
the  Eastern  custom.*      Ben  Jonson  was  buried  at 
Westminster  in  an  upright  position  :  possibly  this 
may    have    been    on    account    of   the    large    fee 
demanded  for  a  full  sized   grave.       It  was   for   a 
long  time  supposed  that  the  story  was   invented 
to  account  for  the  smallness  of  the  gravestone,  but 
on    the    grave   being    opened    some    years    since, 
the   dramatist's   remains   were   discovered   in   the 
attitude    indicated    by    tradition.      The    following 
quotation    from    Hearne's    "  Collection     of   Anti- 

*  See  Robinson's  "  History  and  Antiquities  of  Stoke  Newington." 


134  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

quarian  Discourses,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  212,  shows  that 
the  upright  position  of  burial  was  anciently 
adopted  in  the  case  of  captains  in  the  army  : 

"  For  them  above  the  grounde  buryed,  I  have  by 
tradition  heard,  that  when  anye  notable  Captayne  dyed  in 
battle  or  campe,  the  souldyers  used  to  take  his  bodye  and 
to  sette  him  on  his  feet  uprighte,  and  put  his  launce  or 
pike  into  his  hand,  and  then  his  fellowe  souldyers  did 
travell  and  everye  man  bringe  so  much  earthe,  and  laye 
about  him  as  should  cover  him,  and  mount  up  to  cover 
the  top  of  his  pike." 

At  Messina  there  is  a  church  attached  to  one 
of  the  monasteries — St.  Jacomo — in  which  several 
monks  are  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  may  be 
seen  through  a  grating"  in  a  vault  below  the 
church. 

From  the  earliest  ages  to  within  about  one 
hundred  years  ago,  it  appears  to  have  been 
customary  to  bury  either  with  or  without  a  coffin. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  Terrier  of 
lands,  fees,  etc.,  belonging  to  Caistor  Vicarage, 
Lincolnshire,  dated  17 17:  "For  every  grave  in 
the  churchyard  and  without  coffin,  four  pence,  if 
with  coffin,  one  shilling."  Amongst  the  Vestry 
Minutes  of  St.  Helen's,  Bishopsgate,  dated  5th 
March,  1564:  "Item,  that  none  shall  be  buryd 
within    the   Church,    unless    the    dead    corpse    be 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  135 

coffined  in  wood."  The  late  John  Bernard 
Palmer,  first  Abbot  of  the  Cistercians  in  England 
since  the  Reformation,  was  buried  in  the  Chapter 
House,  at  Loughborough,  without  a  coffin.  In 
the  days  when  burial  without  a  coffin  was  general, 
the  body  was  shrouded,  tied  at  the  head  and  feet, 
and  carried  to  the  grave  in  a  closed  bier,  which 
was  generally  provided  by  the  parish  for  this 
purpose. 

A  singular  custom  was  wont  to  prevail  at 
Gainsborough,  of  distributing  penny  loaves  on  the 
occasion  of  a  funeral,  to  whosoever  might  demand 
them.  Prior  to  the  Reformation  it  was  a  common 
practice  for  our  ancestors  to  direct  in  their  wills 
that  doles  of  bread  and  other  alms  should  be 
given  to  the  poor  at  their  funerals  ;  by  this  they 
performed  a  double  act — relieving  the  corporal 
wants  of  the  poor,  and  securing  their  prayers  for 
the  repose  of  their  own  souls.  In  some  parts  of 
Yorkshire,  and  elsewhere,  it  is  still  customary  to 
send  to  friends  immediately  after  death  a  paper 
bag  of  biscuits,  and  a  card  with  the  name,  etc.,  of 
the  deceased ;  this  would  not  appear  to  be 
connected  with  a  dole  to  purchase  prayers,  and 
may  possibly  find  an  origin  in,  and  be  the  last 
remains  of,   the  ancient  ceremonial  of  the  pagan 


136  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

burial  feasts.      At  Amersden,  in  Oxfordshire,  it  was 

the  custom  at  the  burial  of  every  corpse  for  a  cake 

and  flagon  of   ale    to    be    given    to    the  minister 

in     the     church     porch     immediately     after    the 

funeral. 

The  curious  and  repulsive  practice  of  sin  eating 

is     now     obsolete.       Aubrey,     in     "  Remains    of 

Gentilisme  and  Judaisme,"  thus  refers  to  it  : — 

"  In  the  County  of  Hereford  was  an  old  custome  at 
funeralls  to  have  poor  people  who  were  to  take  upon  them 
the  sinnes  of  the  party  deceased.  The  manner  was  that 
when  the  corps  was  brought  out  of  the  house  and  layd  on 
the  Biere,  a  Loafe  of  Bread  was  brought  out,  and  delivered 
to  the  Sinne  eater  over  the  corps,  so  also  a  Mazer-bowle  of 
Maple  full  of  beer,  wch  he  was  to  drinke  up,  and  six  pence  in 
money,  in  consideration  whereof  he  took  upon  him  all  the 
sinnes  of  the  Defunct,  and  freed  him  (or  her)  from  walking 
after  they  were  dead." 

The  origin  of  this  strange  custom  was  most  likely 
connected  in  some  way  with  the  ceremony  of  the 
Scape  Goat  under  the  old  Law.  (Leviticus,  cap. 
xvi.,  v.  21). 

Tradition  authorises  the  expectation  that  our 
Lord  will  appear  in  the  east ;  therefore  all  the 
faithful  dead  are  buried  with  their  feet  towards 
the  east  to  meet  Him.  Hence  in  Wales  the 
east  wind  is  called  "  The  wind  of  the  dead 
men's   feet."      The  eastern   portion   of  a  church- 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  137 

yard  is  always  looked  on  as  the  most  honoured — 

next  the  south — then  the  west,  and  last  of  all  the 

north,  from   the  belief  that  in  this  order  the  dead 

will   rise.      A   curious   instance    of   this   belief   is 

furnished  by  an  epitaph  on   a   tombstone,    dated 

1807,  on  the   north  side  of  Epworth  Churchyard, 

Lincolnshire,   the  last  two  lines  of  which  run  as 

follow  : — 

"  And  that  I  might  longer  undisturbed  abide 
I  choosed  to  be  laid  on  this  Northern  side." 

Felons,  and  notorious  bad  characters,  were 
frequently  buried  on  the  north  side  of  the 
church. 

In  Suffolk  most  of  the  churches  have  both  a 
north  and  south  door,  and,  where  old  customs  are 
observed,  the  body  is  brought  in  at  the  south 
door,  put  down  at  the  west  end  of  the  aisle,  and 
carried  out  by  the  north  door.  In  Lincolnshire 
the  north  is  generally  reserved  entirely  for 
funerals,  the  south  and  west  doors  being-  reserved 
for  christenings  and  weddings. 

The  burning  of  lights  and  torches  at  funerals 
has  always  been  a  mark  of  honour  to  the  dead, 
and  to  have  a  great  number  was  a  special  mark  of 
honour  to  the  deceased.  Testators  frequently 
made  provision  in  their   wills  for  the  burning  of 


138  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

torches,  both  as  to  the  number  to  be  used,  and 
their  price  ;  these  torches  were  generally  provided 
by  the  churchwardens,  and  consequently  they 
were  an  article  of  profit  to  the  church.  Church- 
wardens' accounts  furnish  numerous  instances  of 
the  charge  to  the  friends  of  the  deceased  according- 
to  the  consumption  of  wax. 

The  following  extract  from  the  will  of  John 
Woodford,  of  Barsby,  in  the  parish  of  Ashby 
Folville,  Leicestershire,  dated  13th  February, 
1543,  instances  the  custom  of  making  minute 
testamentary  arrangements  for  burial  : — 

"And  my  bodie  to  be  burryed  within  the  parishe 
Churche  of  our  Ladie  in  Ashbie-folwell  Aforesaid  as  neare 
to  the  grave  or  Tom  be  of  my  cozin  John  Woodforde  as 
maye  be  convenyentlie  thought,  or  els  in  the  crosse  oyle 
before  the  pulpitt.  Also  I  bequeath  to  our  Mother 
Church  of  Lyncolne  iiij '•  Also  to  the  Highe  Altar  xijd- 
Also  I  will  that  there  be  provided  of  Waxe  xiij  Tapers  of 
the  price  of  ijd-  a  peece.  Also  I  will  that  fyve  poor  men 
of  the  same  parishe  be  chosen  to  beare  fyve  Torches  about 
my  hearse  Att  my  burryall.  And  they  doing  shall  have 
for  their  labour  ijd-  a  peece.  Also  I  bequeath  to  the  same 
Church  those  fyve  Torches  And  they  to  be  burned  att 
principall  Feasts  and  other  Feasts  as  shall  be  convenyent. 
Also  I  will  that  every  priest  that  cometh  to  my  Burriall 
to  have  iiijd-  and  their  dynner.  And  if  there  be  no 
dynner,Then  every  priest  for  to  have  viijd- a  peece.  And  the 
same  priests  of  their  charritie  for  to  say  dirge  and  Masse 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  139 

Att  my  burriall  or  els  Att  home  within  their  parish  for  my 
soule  and  for  all  my  good  Frends  soules  and  for  all  xyen 
soules.  Also  I  will  that  they  shall  ring  att  my  Burriall  and 
to  have  for  their  labour  ijd-  a  peece." 

The  Arvel  Dinner  appears  to  be  an  ancient 
custom.  This  was  properly  a  solemn  festival  on 
the  day  of  interment,  and  when  the  corpse  was 
exposed  to  view.  The  relations  and  friends  were 
invited  to  attend  so  that,  having  inspected  the 
body,  they  might  avouch  that  the  death  was  a 
natural  one,  and  thus  exculpate  the  heir  and  all 
others  entitled  to  the  deceased's  possessions  from 
accusations  of  having  used  violence. 

In  Scotland  the  custom  still  prevails  of  taking 
down  the  window  blinds  at  the  death,  and  hanoing" 
white  sheets  across  the  windows.  The  custom 
also  prevails  in  the  north  of  England,  and  in  many 
families  a  special  sheet  reserved  for  the  death 
chamber  is  kept  for  the  purpose,  and  often  used 
from  generation  to  generation. 

In  many  parts  of  Scotland,  too,  it  is  still 
customary  for  the  nearest  relatives  of  the  deceased 
to  lower  the  body  into  the  grave,  and  wait  by  the 
side  until  the  grave  is  filled  up. 

In  country  districts  in  Wales  a  custom  still 
exists  of  setting  up  a  chest  in  the  middle  of  the 


i4o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS 

chance]  at  the  time  of  a  funeral,  and  before  leaving; 
the  church  the  mourners  all  file  round  and  put 
their  offerings  in  ;  this  is  really  intended  for  the 
clergyman's  fee,  but  if  the  people  are  poor  he  often 
returns  part  of  it  (to  a  widow,  for  instance). 

There  is  at  least  one  instance  that  it  was 
customary  for  the  parish  to  provide  an  umbrella 
tor  the  use  of  the  clergyman  on  public  occasions, 
more  especially  at  funerals.  The  parish  accounts 
at  St.  John's,  Chester,  contain  the  following 
entries  :— 

1729     Paid  Mr.  George  Marsh  for  an 

Umbrell  for  the  parish  use         -         -         -     00    10  6°- 
1786     Paid  for  an  Umbrell  for  Mr. 

Richardson  to  read  the  Burial  service  under       1     6    o°- 

It  was  a  general  belief  that  if  a  corpse  was  carried 
over  fields  on  the  way  to  burial,  it  established  a 
public  right  of  way  for  ever,  hence  it  became 
customary,  when,  for  convenience,  or  in  some 
cases  out  of  necessity,  a  corpse  was  taken  across 
fields,  or  over  any  private  ground,  for  the 
undertaker  to  stick  a  number  of  pins  in  each  gate 
as  the  procession  went  through.  The  pins  were 
accepted  by  the  owner  of  the  land  as  a  payment 
for  the  privilege  of  the  corpse  being  carried 
through,   and  acted   as   an   acknowledgment  that 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  141 

the     right    of   way    was    granted     only    for    the 
particular  occasion. 

There  is  an  ancient  custom  amongst  the 
Russians  to  oive  the  deceased  two  written 
documents  placed  in  his  coffin,  containing  (1) 
The  confession  of  his  sins  :  (2)  The  absolution 
given  by  the  priest. 

One  of  the  ancient  customs  connected  with 
Swedish  funerals  was  to  place  a  small  looking- 
glass  in  the  coffin  of  an  unmarried  female,  so  that 
when  the  last  trump  sounds  she  might  be  able  to 
arrange  her  tresses.  It  was  the  practice  for 
Scandinavian  maidens  to  wear  their  hair  flowing 
loosely,  while  the  matrons  wore  it  bound  about 
the  head,  and  generally  covered  with  some  form 
of  cap,  hence  the  unmarried  woman  was  imagined 
as  wakening  at  the  judgment  day  with  more  untidy 
locks  than  her  wedded  sisters,  and  more  in  need 
of  a  glass. 

It  was  customary,  in  carrying  a  corpse  to  burial, 
to  rest  the  bier  at  any  cross  which  might  be  in  the 
way,  whilst  prayer  was  offered  up  ;  and,  indeed,  it 
was  very  general  to  erect  a  cross  at  any  spot 
where  the  bier  of  a  celebrated  person  had  been 
rested  on  its  way  to  interment. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  a  most  revolting  custom 


i42  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

originated  of  representing  on  tombs  a  skeleton,  or 
worse  still,  a  corpse  in  a  state  of  corruption  ;  this 
was  followed  by  the  more  becoming  custom  of 
representing  the  effigies  of  corpses  enveloped  in 
shrouds  tied  at  the  head  and  feet. 

At  Skipton  it  was  an  invariable  practice  to  bury 
at  midnight  a  woman  who  had  died  at  the  birth 
of  her  first  child  ;  the  coffin  was  carried  under  a 
white  sheet,  the  corners  of  which  were  held  by 
four  women.  A  custom  prevailed  in  Lancashire 
when  a  mother  died  within  a  month  of  the  birth 
of  her  child,  of  taking  the  baby  to  the  funeral,  and 
holding  it  over  the  grave  as  though  to  look  in. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century 
arose  the  practice  of  carrying  a  waxen  effigy  of 
the  deceased  either  on  or  before  the  coffin  in  the 
funeral  procession.  The  earliest  instance  of  this 
practice  is  in  the  case  of  King  Henry  V.,  whose 
effigy  formed  the  first  of  those  figures  which  are 
still  preserved  in  Westminster  Abbey.  This 
custom  was  only  observed  in  the  case  of  royalty, 
and  persons  of  high  position  ;  the  expense  of  a 
waxen  representation  of  the  deceased  would 
prevent  poor  people  from  following  it.  The  wax 
effigy  of  Oliver  Cromwell  lay  in  state  while  the 
body   itselt    was   being   embalmed,    so   that    most 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  143 

probably  the  actual  corpse  was  never  exposed  to 
public  view.  The  practice  appears  to  have  been 
discontinued  shortly  after  the  Restoration. 

A  custom  prevailed  and  continued  even  down 
to  recent  years  of  making  funeral  garlands  on  the 
death  of  young  unmarried  women  of  unblemished 
character.  These  garlands  were  made  sometimes 
of  metal,  and  sometimes  of  natural  flowyers  or 
evergreens,  and  commonly  having  a  white  glove 
in  the  centre,  on  which  was  inscribed  the  name,  or 
initials,  and  age  of  the  deceased.  This  garland 
was  laid  on  or  carried  before  the  coffin  during  its 
passage  to  the  grave,  and  afterwards  frequently 
hung  up  in  the  church,  generally  being  suspended 
from  the  roof.  It  was  usual  in  the  primitive 
church  to  place  crowns  of  flowers  on  the  heads  of 
deceased  virgins. 

There  was  an  order  in  the  Church  of  England 
up  to  the  year  1552,  that  if  a  child  died  within  a 
month  of  baptism  he  should  be  buried  in  his 
chrisom  in  lieu  o  a  shroud.  The  chrisom  was  a 
white  baptismal  robe  with  which,  in  mediaeval 
times,  a  child,  when  christened,  was  enveloped. 
A  sixteenth  century  brass  in  Chesham  Bois 
Church,  in  Buckinghamshire,  represents  Benedict 
Lee,    chrisom   child,    in   his  chrisom  cloth.      The 


144  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

inscription       underneath      the       figure       stands 

thus  : — 

Of  Rogr  Lee  gentilma,  here  lyeth  the  son  Benedict  Lee 
Crysom  whos    soule  ihu  pdo. 

Formerly  it  was  a  general  custom  to  erect 
crosses  at  the  junction  of  four  cross  roads,  on  a 
place  self-consecrated  according  to  the  piety  of  the 
age  ;  suicides,  and  notorious  bad  characters,  were 
frequently  buried  near  to  these,  not  with  the 
notion  of  indignity,  but  in  a  spirit  of  charity,  that, 
being  excluded  from  holy  rites,  they,  by  being 
buried  at  cross  roads,  might  be  in  places  next  in 
sanctity  to  ground  actually  consecrated. 

The  practice  of  placing  a  pewter  plate 
containing  a  little  salt  on  a  corpse  may  possibly 
have  originated  in  salt  being  considered  an 
emblem  of  eternity.  In  Scotland  the  custom  has 
generally  been  to  place  both  salt  and  earth 
separate,  and  unmixed — the  earth  being  an 
emblem  of  the  corruptible  body,  and  the  salt  an 
\S  emblem  of  the  immortal  spirit.  Salt  has  also 
been  used  to  preserve  a  corpse.  The  body  of 
Henry  I.,  who  died  in  Normandy,  was  cut  and 
gashed,  sprinkled  with  salt,  wrapped  in  a  bull's 
hide,  and  brought  to  Reading  Abbey  to  be 
buried. 


BURIAL  CUSTOMS.  145 

Testators  frequently  bequeathed  palls  by  their 
wills  for  the  general  use  of  the  parish  ;  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract  from  the  will  of  William  Parkyns 
of  Brympton,  Berkshire,  who  died  in  1558: — 
"  Item,  I  will  that  mine  executours  buye  one  new 
pall,  price  13s.  /\.d.,  the  which  I  give  unto  the 
parish  churche  at  Brympton  to  be  laide  uppon  any 
personne,  or  personnes,  that  shall  die  within  the 
said  parishe  and  be  brought  to  the  churche." 

In  several  rural  districts  in  England,  especially 
in  the  north,  when  a  funeral  takes  place,  a  basin 
full  of  sprigs  of  box  is  placed  at  the  door  of  the 
house  where  the  corpse  lies,  and  each  person  who 
attends  the  funeral  takes  a  sprig  of  box  as  he 
enters  the  house,  carries  it  in  the  funeral  procession, 
and  finally  throws  it  into  the  grave  of  the  deceased. 

At  Exford,  near  Minehead,  it  was  formerly  the 

custom    for   burials    always    to    take    place    on   a 

Sunday  when   possible,   the  burial   service  being 

dovetailed  into  the  usual  afternoon  service.     The 

corpse  being  brought  into  the  church,   was  placed 

in  front  of  the  reading  desk,  and  remained  there 

during  the  service  :  the  funeral  psalms  were  read 

instead  of  the  psalms  for  the  day,  and  the  funeral 

lesson  instead  of  the  second  lesson.     The  burial 

service  was  concluded  after  the  sermon,  and  the 

10 


i46  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

entire  congregation  would  generally  remain  to  the 
end.  The  custom  appears  to  have  fallen  into 
disuse  about  thirty  years  ago. 

Funeral  cake  or  biscuit  appears  to  be  general 
in  all  parts.  In  Whitby,  a  round,  flat,  and  rather 
sweet,  sort  of  cake  biscuit  is  baked  expressly  for 
use  at  funerals,  and  made  to  order  by  more  than 
one  baker  in  the  town  ;  it  is  white,  slightly 
sprinkled  with  sugar,  and  of  a  fine  even  texture 
within.  In  Lincolnshire  sponge  finger  biscuits 
are  used.  In  Cumberland  a  custom  prevailed  of 
giving  to  each  person  who  attended  the  funeral  a 
small  piece  of  rich  cake,  carefully  wrapped  up  in 
white  paper  and  sealed.  This  used  to  be  carried 
round  immediately  before  the  "lifting  of  the  corpse." 
Each  visitor  selected  one  of  the  sealed  packets 
and  carried  it  home  unopened. 

Funeral  Bidders  are  most  probably  derived 
from  the  Romans,  who  used  to  send  a  public  crier 
about  inviting  people  to  the  solemnization  of  a 
funeral.  In  the  northern  countries  each  village 
had  its  regular  "  Bidder,"  who  when  "  bidding"  to 
the  funeral  generally  knocked  on  the  door  with  a 
key.  In  towns  the  crier  frequently  did  the 
"bidding,"  having  first  called  the  attention  of  the 
people  by  his  bell. 


Concerning  the  Cburcb\>ait>. 

By  John  Nicholson. 

IN  the  life  of  St.  Willebald  #  we  are  told  "  that 
it  was  an  ancient  custom  of  the  Saxon  nation 
on  the  estates  of  some  of  their  nobles  and  great 
men,  to  erect,  not  a  church,  but  the  sign  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  dedicated  to  God,  beautifully  and 
honourably  adorned,  and  exalted  on  high  for  the 
common  use  of  daily  prayer."  It  is  the  exception 
rather  than  the  rule,  for  Domesday  Book  to 
mention  a  church  in  connection  with  a  village, 
and  it  is  possible  that  our  Kirkbys,  and  place 
names  having  Kirk  as  a  prefix,  acquired  that 
addition  when  the  church  was  built  in  the 
churchyard  ready  for  it — a  churchyard  already 
consecrated  and  hallowed  by  years  of  divine 
service  and  sacred  memories. 

What  better  place  than  this,  in  the  whole  town- 
ship, could  be  found  for  the  hearing  of  disputes 
and  the  settling  of  cases  ;  here,  where  the  bishop 
sat  with  the  sheriff,  where  the  clerics  were  lawyers, 

*  Acta  SS.  Ord.   Benedict,  sec.  iii.,  part  2. 


i48  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

where  oaths  could  be  taken  on  everything  that 
was  holy,  and  round  which  all  a  man's  sacred 
associations  clustered.  The  churchyard  was  a 
court  of  justice ;  but  in  later  times,  the  eccle- 
siastical authorities  discouraged  the  holding  of 
secular  pleas  in  churches  and  churchyards.  In 
1287  a  synod  held  at  Exeter,  said  "  Let  not  secular 
pleas  be  held  in  churchyards,"  but  as  late  as  1472, 
a  presentment  from  the  parish  of  "  Helemsay  et 
Staunforthbrig "  (Helmsley  and  Stamfordbrig) 
shews  "  that  all  the  parishioners  there  hold  pleas 
and  other  temporal  meetings  in  the  church  and 
churchyard."* 

The  great  church  festivals  were  much  abused 
by  traders.  At  these  great  gatherings,  dealers  in 
all  kinds  of  goods  appeared  on  the  scene,  spread 
their  wares  on  the  tombstones,  and  could  with 
difficulty  be  kept  out  of  the  sacred  edifice  itself. 
Their  noisy  shoutings,  the  assemblage  of  pleasure 
seekers,  and  the  tumult  attending  such  gatherings 
interfered  seriously  with  the  Divine  service  pro- 
ceeding inside  the  church.  A  presentment,  in 
14 1 6,  from  St.  Michael-le- Belfry,  in  the  city  of 
York,  states  "  the  parishioners  say  that  a  common 
market  of  vendibles  is  held  in  the  churchyard  on 

*  York  Fabric    Rolls,    p.  256. 


CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHYARD.  149 

Sundays  and  holidays,  and  divers  things,  and 
goods,  and  rushes,  are  exposed  there  for  sale,  and 
horses  stand  over  the  bodies  of  the  dead  there 
buried,  and  defile  the  graves,  to  the  great  dis- 
honour and  manifest  hindrance  of  divine  worship, 
on  account  of  the  clamour  of  those  who  stand 
about."  (/did.,  p.  248.)  While  so  late  as  15 19,  the 
churchwardens  of  Riccall,  in  Yorkshire,  complain 
that  "pedlars  come  on  festival  days  into  the  porch 
of  the  church  and  there  sell  their  merchandise." 
(Ibid.,  p.  271.) 

Annual  fairs  were  sometimes  held  in  church- 
yards, especially  where  there  was  some  saintly 
shrine  or  relic,  which  attracted  crowds  for  the 
period  of  some  anniversary.  Perhaps  Thomas-a- 
Beckett's  shrine  at  Canterbury  was  the  most 
celebrated,  but  the  shrine  of  Our  Lady  of 
Walsingham  almost  surpassed  it.  The  common 
people  held  the  idea  that  the  Milky  Way  pointed 
towards  Walsingham,  and  they  called  it  Wal- 
singham Way  accordingly ;  while  Glastonbury 
was  called  a  second  Rome  for  the  number  and 
sacredness  of  its  relics.  When  the  pilgrims  had 
paid  their  devotion  to  the  relics,  they  needed  to 
eat  and  drink,  and  they  were  not  averse  to  spend 
the  rest  of  the  day  in  amusement.      Accordingly, 


150  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

minstrels,  players,  jugglers,  and  the  like,  supplied 
that  demand,  and  the  pilgrimage  became  a 
fair. 

On  Sundays  and  holidays,  the  churchyard 
became  a  public  playground.  In  pre- Reformation 
days,  a  holiday  was  a  holy-day,  when  man  went 
not  forth  to  his  labour.  Then  there  were  no  eight 
hours  day,  no  Early  Closing  Associations,  but 
work,  work,  work,  from  early  morn  till  late  night, 
the  only  cessation  of  toil  being  on  Sundays  and 
Saints'  days,  hence  termed  a  holy-day.  On  that 
day,  people  went  to  matins  and  mass  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  in  amusements, 
not  always  elevating  or  refined.  The  Synod  of 
Exeter,  already  quoted,  says,  "  We  strictly  enjoin 
on  parish  priests  that  they  publicly  proclaim  in 
their  churches,  that  no  one  presume  to  carry  on 
combats,  dances,  or  other  improper  sports  in  the 
churchyards,  especially  on  the  eves  of  the  feasts 
of  saints  ;  or  stage  plays  or  farces,  by  which  the 
honour  of  the  churches  is  defiled  and  sacred  ordi- 
nances despised."  Again,  at  Salton,  Yorkshire,  in 
1472,  "it  is  ordered,  by  the  consent  of  the  parish- 
ioners, that  no  one  use  improper  and  prohibited 
sports  within  the  churchyard,  as,  for  example, 
wrestling,  football,  and  handball,  under  penalty  of 


CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHYARD.  151 

twopence  forfeit."  *  The  ordinance  seems  to 
have  been  disregarded,  or  to  have  had  only  a 
temporary  effect,  for  in  15  19,  a  second  complaint 
is  made  [Ibid.,  p.  270),  when  the  ecclesiastica 
authorities  commanded,  "  Let  them  desist  on  pain 
of  excommunication." 

In  days  when  men  went  about  armed  with 
sword  and  dagger,  it  was  sure  to  happen  that  a 
hasty  quarrel  would  lead  to  stroke  of  sword  or 
stab  of  dagger,  without  heed  to  the  sacred 
character  of  the  place,  or  to  the  fact  that  the 
assault  constituted  sacrilege,  and  desecrated 
"  God's  Acre  "  by  bloodshed. 

Whitsuntide  used  to  have  a  special  feast  of  its 
own,  known  as  Whitsun  Ales  or  Church  Ales,  an 
institution  by  which  money  was  obtained  for  re- 
pairing the  church,  helping  the  poor,  and  various 
charitable  purposes.  The  churchwardens  brewed 
the  ale,  and  on  the  appointed  day  half  the  country- 
side assembled  to  join  in  the  festivities  ; —  music 
and  song,  baiting  of  bulls,  bears,  and  badgers, 
bowls  and  ball,  dice  and  card-playing,  dancing  and 
merry-making.  The  Church  Ales  were  very 
popular  in  the  North  of  England,  where  it  was 
the   practice   to   hold    them    in    tents   and    booths 

*  York  Fabric  Rolls,   p.   255. 


152  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

erected  in  the  churchyards.  In  165 1,  in  Somerset, 
seventy-two  clergymen  of  the  county  certified  that 
during  these  Church  Ales,  which  generally  fell  on  a 
Sunday,  "the  service  of  God  was  more  solemnly 
performed,  and  the  service  better  attended, 
than  on  other  days." 

As  an  instance  of  what  could  be  accomplished 
at  one  of  these  Church  Ales,  we  may  mention 
that  "in  1532,  the  little  village  of  Chaddesden 
spent  34s.  iod.  on  an  '  Aell '  for  the  benefit  of 
the  great  tower  of  All  Saints',  Derby,  which  was 
then  being  built,  and  earned  by  it  £25  8s.  6d., — ■ 
near  ^400  of  our  money."  (Lichfield,  Diocesan 
Hist.,  s.p.c.k.) 

Doles  are  often  distributed  in  the  churchyard. 
William  Robinson,  at  one  time  Sheriff  of  Hull, 
when  he  died  in  1708,  left  money  to  purchase  a 
dozen  loaves  of  bread,  costing  a  shilling  each,  to 
be  given  to  twelve  poor  widows  at  his  grave  every 
Christmas  Day.  Leonard  Dare,  in  161 1,  directed 
that  on  Christmas  Day,  Lady  Day,  and  Michael- 
mas Day,  the  churchwardens  were  "to  buy,  bring 
and  lay  on  his  tombstone,  threescore  penny  loaves 
of  good  wholesome  bread,"  which  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed to  the  poor  of  the  parish.  A  quaint 
custom    is   still  enacted    annually  in    London    on 


CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHYARD.  153 

Good  Friday.  The  vicar  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
the  Great,  Smithfield,  drops  twenty-one  sixpences 
in  a  row  on  a  certain  lady's  grave.  The  money 
is  picked  up  by  the  same  number  of  widows 
kneeling,  who  have  previously  attended  service 
at  the  church,  where  a  sermon  is  preached.* 

A  quaint  old  custom,  once  not  infrequently 
practised,  was  that  of  scrambling  bread  and  cheese 
and  other  edibles  in  the  churchyard.  A  story  is 
told  of  two  poor  sisters  walking  to  London  to 
claim  an  estate.  Arriving  at  Paddington,  weary, 
hungry,  and  footsore,  their  miserable  condition 
aroused  sympathy,  and  the  good  folk  of  Padding- 
ton gave  them  relief.  In  course  of  time,  their 
claim  was  established,  and  as  a  token  of  gratitude 
they  left  a  bequest  of  bread  and  cheese,  to  be 
thrown  from  the  top  of  the  church  of  St.  Mary's, 
Paddington,  among  the  people  assembled  in  the 
churchyard  below.  This  custom  was  continued 
into  this  present  century,  for  in  182  i,  it  is  noticed 
in  the  newspapers  as  an  annual  practice  to  throw 
bread  and  cheese  from  the  belfry  of  the  church  at 
eight  o'clock  on  the  Sunday  before  Christmas  Day. 
At  Barford,  Oxfordshire,  is  a  piece  of  land,  known 
as    White-bread    Close,    the    rent    of  which    was 

*  Andrews'  "  Curiosities  of  the  Church." 


i54  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

formerly  spent  in  buying  bread  to  be  scrambled 
for  at  the  church  door.  A  correspondent  of  the 
Gentleman  s  Magazine  for  1824,  says  that  the 
"  distribution  occasioned  such  scenes  of  indecent 
riot  and  outrage,  even  fioditino-  in  the  church  itself, 
that  a  late  curate  very  properly  effected  the 
suppression  of  a  practice  productive  of  this  gross 
abuse."  Mr.  Tuke,  of  Wath,  near  Rotherham, 
who  died  in  18 to,  left  a  bequest  whereby  forty 
dozen  penny  loaves  were  to  be  thrown  from  the 
church  leads  at  twelve  o'clock  on  Christmas  Day 
for  ever.  This  is  the  latest  instance  of  a 
scrambling  custom  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  * 
Bells  were  frequently  cast  in  churchyards,  and 
from  the  editor  of  this  volume  we  have  received 
some  interesting  notes  on  this  subject.  "  In  the 
days  of  the  early  bell  founders/'  says  Mr.  William 
Andrews,  "  the  country  roads  were  little  better 
than  miry  lanes,  full  of  ruts  and  holes,  and  where 
the  moisture  of  the  winter  was  often  not  evapora- 
ted during  the  summer.  For  this  reason  bells 
were  mostly  cast  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
churches,  or  monastic  establishments,  they  were 
intended  to  grace.  The  monks,  too,  were  not 
unwilling   to  retain   the  usage   as   an   opportunity 

*  Andrews'  "Curiosities  of  the  Church,"  p.  89. 


CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHYARD.  155 

for  a  religious  service  ;  they  stood  round  the 
casting  pit,  and,  as  the  metal  was  poured  into  the 
mould,  would  chant  psalms  and  offer  prayers. 
Southey,  in  '  The  Doctor,'  says  : — '  The  brethren 
stood  round  the  furnace,  ranged  in  processional 
order,  sang  the  150th  Psalm,  and  then,  after 
certain  prayers,  blessed  the  molten  metal,  and 
called  upon  the  Lord  to  infuse  into  it  His  grace, 
and  overshadow  it  with  His  power,  for  the  honour 
of  the  saint  to  whom  the  bell  wras  to  be  dedicated, 
and  whose  name  it  was  to  bear.' 

"  Sometimes  the  bells  were  cast  in  the  interior  of 
the  building,  as  at  St.  Albans,  where,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  14th  century,  the  great  bell  called 
the  '  Amphibalus,'  being  broken,  was  cast  in  the 
hall  of  the  sacristy.  In  some  places,  Kirkby 
Malzeard,  and  Haddenham,  for  instance,  the  bells 
were  cast  in  the  church  itself.  But  most  fre- 
quently the  churchyard  was  chosen  for  the  purpose. 
At  Scalford,  during  excavations  made  some  time 
apfo,  there  were  found  traces  of  a  former  furnace, 
and  also  a  mass  of  bell  metal,  which  had  evidently 
been  melted  on  the  spot  ;  about  1876,  the  church- 
yard of  Empingham  yielded  a  similar  instance. 
The  bells  of  Meaux  Abbey  were  cast  within  the 
precincts.     Coming  down  to  more  recent  times  we 


156  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

find  the  bell-founders  obviating  risks  of  transit  by 
the  same  means.  The  '  Great  Tom '  of  Lincoln, 
in  1 6 10,  and  the  great  bell  of  Canterbury,  in  1762, 
were  cast  in  the  yards  of  their  respective 
cathedrals.  It  was  customary  also  for  bell  crafts- 
men to  settle  awhile  in  a  particular  locality,  and 
thence  extend  their  business  from  that  centre  to 
the  churches  around.  This  was  done  in  1734  by 
Daniel  Hedderly,  of  Bawtry,  at  Winterton,  in 
Lincolnshire,  and  by  Henry  Bagley,  who  adver- 
tised in  1732,  that  he  would  '  cast  any  ring  or  rings 
of  bells  in  the  town  they  belong."  Latterly,  how- 
ever, the  improved  roads  and  means  of  transit  have 
enabled  bells  to  be  cast  in  their  proper  foundries, 
and  then  conveyed  to  their  posts  of  office." 

Sundials  were  most  commonly  placed  on  the 
south  wall  of  the  church,  but  many  a  churchyard 
is  graced  by  these  obsolete  time-keepers.  At 
Kilham,  East  Yorkshire,  opposite  the  door  of  the 
south  porch  of  the  church,  a  stone  coffin  has  been 
sunk,  head  foremost,  about  half  its  length  in  the 
ground,  and  on  the  foot  of  this  coffin  a  sundial 
was  placed  in  1769,  and  is  still  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation. 

Wimborne  Minster,  Dorset,  boasts  a  dial  which 
must   not  be  missed.      It  is  dated   1732,  and  is  to 


CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHYARD.  157 

be  found  under  the  yew  tree  in  the  Minster  yard, 
though  its  original  position  was  on  the  gable  of 
the  north  transept.  It  is  of  stone,  6  ft.  in 
height ;  its  south  face  is  4  ft.  in  width,  and  its  east 
and  west  faces  3  ft.  respectively,  each  of  which 
bears  a  gnomon — a  somewhat  unusual  feature. 

A  few  miles  from  Canterbury,  in  Chilham 
churchyard,  stands  a  beautiful  sundial,  the  grace- 
ful stone  pedstal  of  which  was  designed  by  the 
famous  Inigo  Jones. 

Sundials  have  become  well  ni^h  useless  owino- 
to  improved  methods  of  keeping  time,  but  one 
loves  to  see  these  relics  which  link  us  to  a  past 
which,  with  all  its  disadvantages,  has  many 
pleasant  bye-paths  for  the  men  of  to-day. 

The  stocks  were  sometimes  placed  in  the 
churchyard,  though  more  frequently  near  the 
village  cross  or  in  the  market  place.  In  1578, 
tenpence  was  paid  "for  a  hinging  locke  to  the 
stockes  in  the  Mynster  Yearde,"  *  and  again  in 
1693  "for  rebuilding  the  gallows  in  the  Horse 
faire,  and  the  stocks  in  the  Minster  yard, 
.£5  5s.  iod."  The  stocks  at  Beverley  Minster 
were  movable,  and  placed  in  the  yard  when  re- 
quired for  use. 

*  York  Fabric  Rolls,  p.   116. 


158  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

A  strange  scene  was  enacted  in  St.  Paul's 
churchyard,  in  May,  1 53  j .  According  to  Fox, 
the  well  known  writer  on  martyrs,  Bishop 
Stokesley  "caused  all  the  New  Testament  of 
Tyndal's  translation,  and  many  other  books  which 
he  had  bought,  to  be  openly  burnt  in  St.  Paul's 
churchyard." 

A  curious  act  of  penance  was  performed  in 
Hull,  in  1534,  by  the  vicar  of  North  Cave.  He 
had  made  a  study  of  the  work  of  the  Reformers, 
who  had  settled  in  Antwerp,  and  sent  their  books 
over  to  England.  In  a  sermon  preached  in  the 
Holy  Trinity  Church,  Hull,  he  advocated  their 
teaching,  and  for  this  he  was  tried  for  heresy  and 
convicted.  He  recanted,  and  as  an  act  of 
penance,  one  Sunday,  he  walked  round  the  church 
barefooted,  with  only  his  shirt  on,  and  carrying  a 
large  faggot  in  his  hand  to  represent  the  punish- 
ment he  deserved. 

Crosses  have  always  been  deemed  a  fitting 
emblem  and  suitable  ornament  for  churchyards. 
Many  ancient,  interesting,  and  valuable  crosses 
are  yet  to  be  found,  notably  at  Ilkley,  Crowle, 
Bakewell,  and  Eyam,  the  latter  of  which  lay  in 
pieces  in  a  corner  of  the  churchyard,  until  restored 
bv  John  Howard,  the  philanthropist. 


CONCERNING  THE  CHURCHYARD.  159 

One  result  of  church  restoration  by  vicars, 
strangers  to  the  place  and  people,  and  but  newly 
installed,  is  the  formation  of  a  rubbish  heap,  in 
some  neglected  or  unseen  corner  of  the  church- 
yard. Here  are  thrown,  carelessly,  cruelly, 
wantonly,  costly  stones  of  marble,  alabaster,  or 
granite,  removed  from  the  interior  of  the  church, 
because  there  is  no  representative  to  plead  for 
their  safety.  Boys  clamber  over  the  wall,  make 
houses  of  the  slabs,  and  for  one  brief  hour,  "  dwell 
in  marble  halls,"  then  go  home  and  carry  off 
the  smaller  pieces  to  ornament  a  rockery.  It  has 
been  my  good  fortune,  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
to  rescue  a  monumental  slab  from  destruction,  and 
place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  present  representative 
of  the  family  mentioned  thereon. 

Let  us  go  through  this  little  wicket  gate  which 
gives  entrance  to  this  village  churchyard.  As  the 
gate  clicks  behind  us,  we  find  ourselves  close  to  a 
handsome  modern  cross,  raised  on  four  circular 
steps.  Here  let  us  sit  awhile  and  find  rest  for 
body  and  soul.  The  grass  is  closely  cut  between 
the  graves,  the  little  grassy  mounds  themselves 
have  been  made  into  tiny  flower  gardens.  All 
around  is  evidence  of  care  and  pride  in  work  ;  it 
is  somebody's  hobby  as  well  as  his  living.      Round 


160  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

the  larger  family  graves,  tasteful  iron  railings  are 
fixed,  and  creeping  plants  and  climbing  roses  rob 
the  erection  of  its  rigidity.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  eighth  century,  a  wise  Northumbrian  monarch 
was  laid  to  rest  in  this  "  garden  of  sleep,"  and  for 
twelve  centuries  the  long  roll  of  those  joining  the 
majority  has  been  added  to  here  in  this  quiet  place, 
until  the  very  dust  on  which  we  walk  is  sacred. 
Like  Moses  in  the  desert  we  are  on  holy  ground 
— it  is  "  God's  Acre." 


Hltars  in  Cburcbes. 

By  the  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tyack,  b.a. 

THE  altar,  although  it  is  the  most  important 
and  most  conspicuous  article  of  church 
furniture,  is  not  one  that  provides  much  material  for 
gossip  of  the  quaint  and  curious  kind.  And  this 
is  natural  :  a  decent  reverence  having  protected 
the  Christian  "Holy  of  Holies"  from  the 
vagaries  that  have  sometimes  invented  grotesque 
customs  in  connection  with  other  parts  of  the 
church.  This  feeling  of  sanctity  arises  most 
obviously  from  the  fact  that  on  the  altar  the 
sacred  mystery  of  the  Eucharist  is  offered  ;  but  in 
early  times  it  was  intensified  by  the  knowledge 
that  beneath  that  altar  rested  the  remains  of  some 
saint  or  martyr.  In  the  first  ages  it  was  so  far 
customary  thus  to  commemorate  the  church's 
departed  heroes,  that  confessio,  or  martyrion  (that 
is,  the  grave  of  a  confessor  or  martyr),  became 
recognized  names  for  the  altar. 

In    later   times  the  custom  was  reversed;    the 

altar     was    no     longer    reared    over    the    bones 

11 


i62  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

of  the  saint,  but  the  body  of  anyone  whom 
the  church  specially  wished  to  honour  was  buried 
beneath  the  altar  ;  and  even  now,  when  interments 
within  churches  are  forbidden,  the  same  natural 
feeling  often  finds  expression  in  the  burial  of  a 
parish  priest  immediately  without  the  east  wall,  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  altar  that  he  served. 

Probably  it  was  the  thought  of  security 
guaranteed  by  the  sacredness  of  the  altar  which 
suggested  to  the  monks  of  Canterbury  the  making 
of  a  grated  vault  beneath  the  high  altar  of  the 
cathedral,  in  which  to  store  their  treasures.  Here, 
before  the  Reformation,  was  kept  a  collection  of 
gold  and  silver  vessels,  so  large  and  costly,  that 
in  the  opinion  of  Erasmus,  Midas  and  Crcesus 
would  seem  but  beggars  in  presence  of  it.  This 
altar  was  itself  lavishly  adorned,  and  all  its  glory 
had  not  disappeared  in  the  days  of  Archbishop 
Laud,  one  of  whose  offences  was  the  adorning  of 
it  with  "a  most  idolatrous  costly  glory  cloth." 

For  richness  of  material  no  altar  that  the  world 
has  seen  could  well  excel  the  one  erected  in  the 
Cathedral  of  S.  Sophia  by  the  Emperor 
Justinian.  It  was  "a  most  inimitable  work,  for  it 
was  artificially  composed  of  all  sorts  of  materials 
that  either  the  earth  or  the  sea  could  afford,  gold, 


ALTARS  IN  CHURCHES.  163 

silver,  and  all  kinds  of  stones,  wood,  metals,  and 
other  things ;  which  being  melted  and  mixed 
together,  a  most  curious  table  was  framed  out  of 
this  universal  mass."  The  result,  one  cannot  but 
think,  with  all  its  splendour,  must  have  been 
somewhat  barbaric.  Other  altars  we  read  of  in 
the  early  ages  made  of  gold,  or  of  pure  silver,  and 
others,  like  that  presented  to  a  church  by 
Pulcheria  according  to  Sozomen,  adorned  with 
gold  and  precious  stones. 

There  seems  never  to  have  been  any  very 
definite  rule  in  force  as  to  the  material  of  which 
an  altar  should  be  made.  It  is  true  that  the 
Council  of  Epaone  (a.d.  517)  decreed  that  "no 
altar  should  be  consecrated  except  it  were  of 
stone  ;"  but  in  practice,  metal  and  wooden  altars 
still  continued  to  be  used,  both  in  the  east  and  the 
west. 

The  custom  of  having  a  tabernacle  permanently 
on  the  altar  for  the  reservation  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  did  not  become  usual  until  the  twelfth 
century,  but  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century,  Leo  IV.  mentions  a  pyx  suspended 
for  the  same  purpose  above  it.  In  fact  we  find 
traces  as  far  back  as  the  sixth  of  the  use  of 
pyxes  in  the  form  of  doves  made  of  gold  or  silver  ; 


i64  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  in  England  this  custom  continued  until  the 
Reformation.  The  pyx  at  Durham  Cathedral, 
which  hunof  fr0m  a  hook  still  to  be  seen  in  the 
roof,  was  in  the  form  of  a  pelican  "in  her  piety," 
that  is,  feeding  her  young  with  her  heart's  blood  ; 
a  figure  which  has  been  copied  in  the  lectern  now 
in  use. 

As  the  usual  ornaments  of  the  altar  and  its 
ministers  became  more  numerous  and  more  costly, 
it  was  inevitable  that  the  question  of  responsibility 
for  their  provision  should  arise.  Such  a  dispute 
came  for  settlement  before  Walter  de  Gray, 
Archbishop  of  York  (12 16-1256)  in  1253,  and  he 
drew  up  a  catalogue  of  such  necessary  things  as 
the  parishioners  were  to  provide. 

It  will  perhaps  surprise  some  people  to  know 
that  the  custom  of  placing  vases  of  flowers  on  the 
altar,  so  far  from  being  a  modern  innovation,  is 
one  of  the  most  ancient  ways  of  adorning  it.  S. 
Augustine  speaks  of  a  young  man  taking  a  flower 
from  an  altar  in  an  oratory  dedicated  to  S. 
Stephen  ;  and  elsewhere  we  read  of  flowers, 
skilfully  interwoven,  as  a  decoration  of  the  altar. 

Anciently  altars  had  no  covering,  except  the 
linen  clothes  placed  on  the  top,  but  as  early  as  the 
sixth  century  Gregory  of  Tours  speaks  of  a  silk 


ALTARS  IN  CHURCHES.  165 

pall  as  a  covering  for  one.      It  was  in  the  eighth 
century,  however,  and  by  the  influence  of  Pope 
Leo  III.,  that  altar-cloths  came  generally  into  use. 
The    name    for    this    in    the  Roman    Missal    is 
Pallium,  or  pall,  and   that   name  is  still  preserved 
in  our  English  Coronation  Service,  where  the  gift 
of  a  pall  is  prescribed  as  part  of  the  oblation  to  be 
made  by  the  Sovereign.      In  accordance  with  this 
direction,  and  the  custom  of  her  ancestors,  Queen 
Victoria,  at  her  coronation,  made  an  offering  of  a 
pall  of  cloth-of-gold,  which  was  presented  at  the 
altar  steps. 

In  marked  contrast  to  the  reverence  shown  to 
the  altar  in  almost  all  ages  and  places,  is  a  custom 
that  for  some  couple  of  centuries  existed  at  S. 
Ives  in  Huntingdonshire.  A  certain  Dr.  Robert 
Wilde,  dying  there  in  1678,  left  a  sum  of  ,£50,  the 
interest  of  which  was  to  be  annually  expended  in  the 
purchase  of  Bibles,  each  of  which  was  not  to 
exceed  7s.  6d.  in  price.  The  following  extra- 
ordinary method  of  distributing  these  volumes 
was  also  enjoined.  Six  boys  and  six  girls  of  the 
parish  having  been  selected,  were  to  stand  at  the 
altar  and  cast  thereon  with  three  dice,  those  making 
the  highest  aggregate  number  of  points  to  have 
the    Bibles.       The    occasion    was    to    be    further 


166  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

improved  by  the  preaching  of  an  appropriate 
sermon  by  the  Vicar,  for  which  he  was  to  receive 
the  sum  of  ios.  A  piece  of  ground,  now  known 
as  "  Bible  Orchard,"  was  bought  with  the  legacy, 
and  the  distribution  has  duly  taken  place  ever  since 
in  accordance  with  the  donor's  wishes,  except  that 
in  recent  years  a  small  table  has  been  placed  at 
the  chancel  step  for  the  dice  throwings,  and  the 
desecration  of  the  altar  avoided. 

So  strange  a  custom,  however  good  the 
founder's  intention,  could  scarcely  begin,  much  less 
take  root,  and  live  among  us  now  ;  when  we  see 
on  every  hand  efforts  to  treat  God's  altar-throne 
with  the  reverence,  and  to  adorn  it  with  such 
dignity,  as  becomes  it.  And  we  may  surely  see 
in  the  revived  life  and  widened  usefulness  of  the 
English  Church  of  to-day,  a  fulfilment  of  the 
Divine  promise,  "  Them  that  honour  Me,  I  will 
honour." 


Gbe  IRoofc)  Xoft  anfc  ito  tases. 

By  John  T.  Page. 

THE  word  rood  or  tW  is  of  Saxon  origin, 
and  signifies  a  cross,  or  crucifix.  It  was 
universally  adopted  in  Roman  Catholic  times  to 
denote  the  cross  on  which  Christ  suffered  death, 
and  thus  instead  of  the  Holy  Cross  we  invariably 
read  of  the  Holy  Rood. 

The  annals  of  legendary  lore  record  that 
on  the  3rd  of  May,  a.d.  328,  the  true  cross  was 
found  by  St.  Helena,  buried  deep  in  the  ground 
at  Jerusalem.  Cosroes,  King  of  Persia,  on 
plundering  the  city,  carried  the  precious  relic 
away  with  him,  but  it  was  recovered  again  by 
Heraclius,  Emperor  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  who, 
in  the  year  629,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem, 
and  restored  it  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

Ever  since  then  the  14th  of  September  has 
been  celebrated  as  the  Festival  of  the  Holy  Rood, 
or  Holy  Cross.  Crosses  had  been  set  up  in 
churches  as  far  back  as  the  year  a.d.  431,  and 
henceforward  until  the  time  of  the   Reformation 


168  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

they    continued    to    be    an    important    article    of 
church  furniture. 

From  the  earliest  times  it  had  been  customary 
to  separate   that   part   of  the   Church   at  the  east 
end  where  the  altar  stood,  from   the  body  of  the 
nave,    where   the  common    people  assembled  for 
worship.      For    this    reason    we    find    the    arches 
between    the    chancel    and    the    nave    in    Anglo- 
Saxon   and    Norman   Churches    very    narrow,   so 
that  a  curtain  could  easily  be  stretched  across  the 
opening.      Later  on  this  curtain  was  displaced  by 
a  screen  of  open  woodwork,   and   in   some  cases 
stone    was    used   instead   of  wood.       This  screen 
was    generally     carried    up     to    the     capitals    of 
the   columns   which   supported  the   chancel   arch, 
and  was  surmounted  by  a  substantial  cross-beam. 
Upon  the  beam  was  constructed  a  loft   or  gallery, 
in  the  centre  of  which  stood  the  rood,  or  crucifix. 
Access    was    generally    gained    to    the    rood   loft 
by  a  newel  staircase   cut   either   in   the   north   or 
south    wall   of  the   chancel,    and  occasionally   the 
staircase      existed     on      both     sides.        In     some 
churches   the   rood  loft  extended  across  the  side 
aisles  as  well,  and  this  necessitated  the  erection  of 
a  specially   constructed  turret   at  the  east  end  of 
one  of  the  aisles. 


THE  ROOD  LOFT.  169 

The  rood  itself  was  always  set  in  the  centre  of 
the  loft,  in  such  a  position  that  it  could  be  well 
seen  by  the  assembled  worshippers.  Not  only 
was  the  body  of  the  Saviour  represented  as 
hanging  upon  the  cross,  but  it  was  flanked  on  each 
side  by  attendant  images  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and 
St.  John.  These  all  faced  the  west,  in  accordance 
with  a  tradition  that  Christ  was  crucified  with  His 
face  in  that  direction.  It  must  not,  however,  be 
taken  for  granted  that  a  rood  loft  existed  in  every 
church.  Sometimes  the  rood  was  simply  fixed  on 
the  cross-beam  immediately  over  the  screen,  the 
gallery  in  this  case  being  dispensed  with. 

It  is  a  moot  point  as  to  when  the  rood  was  first 
set  up  in  the  English  Church,  but  as  there  are 
scarcely  any  remains  of  screen-work  of  earlier 
date  than  the  fourteenth  century,  it  could  not  have 
been  long  before  that  time.  There  are,  it  is  true, 
a  few  solitary  specimens  of  thirteenth  century 
work,  but  most  of  that  which  still  exists  is  of 
fifteenth  century  date.  Looking  at  examples  of 
this  period  we  generally  find  the  rood  loft  pro- 
jected a  little  forward  over  the  screen,  the  angle 
thus  formed  being  filled  with  groined  work, 
springing  from  the  protruding  supports  of  the 
screen   beneath.      The   upper   part  of  the   screen 


170  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

was  filled  with  open  work  carving,  which  some- 
times partook  of  the  character  of  an  elaborate 
symbolical  design.  The  lower  part  was  nearly 
always  plain,  but  in  conjunction  with  the  upper 
surface  was  often  elaborately  painted  and  gilded. 

When  the  Reformation  came,  the  roods  were 
all  swept  away  by  order,  but  the  rood  lofts  in 
some  cases  became  utilised  as  galleries  for  the 
singers.  In  the  churchwardens'  account  books, 
belonging  to  the  parish  of  Stratton,  Cornwall, 
under  date  1 549,  occurs  an  entry  of  a  sum  of  money 
'•  payd  for  takyng  downe  ye  Rode  and  ye  pagents  yn 
ye  rode  lofte."  It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  the 
roods  escaped  destruction,  but  representations  of 
the  rood,  and  its  attendant  images  of  St.  John  and 
the  Virgin  Mary,  were  sometimes  carved  in  stone 
and  inserted  in  the  walls  of  churches,  and  of 
these  a  few  still  remain.  It  is  therefore  possible 
to  obtain  from  these  stone  carvings  a  very  good 
idea  of  how  the  rood  looked  when  it  was  set  up 
in  the  rood  loft.  Mr.  Bloxam  mentions  examples 
at  Romsey,  Hants  ;  Sherborne,  Dorset ;  Burford, 
Oxon,  and  Evesham,  Worcester  ;  and  the  writer 
may  add  that  a  fine  specimen  is  to  be  seen  over 
the  south  doorway  of  Stepney  Church,  Middlesex. 
It  it  presumed  that  an  altar  sometimes  stood  in 


THE  ROOD  LOFT.  171 

the  loft  in  front  of  the  rood.  The  fact  that  at 
Maxey  Church,  Northamptonshire,  a  piscina 
is  to  be  found  in  the  south  wall  of  the  clerestory 
would  seem  to  enforce  such  a  theory.  On  special 
occasions  lights  and  other  decorations  occupied  a 
place  in  the  loft  near  the  rood.  It  has  also  been 
stated  that  the  Gospel  and  Epistle,  and  various 
other  parts  of  the  service,  were  read  from  the 
rood  loft. 

Very  good  examples  of  a  late  Perpendicular  rood 
screen  and  loft  exist  at  Bugbrook  Church, 
Northamptonshire.  The  screen  consists  of  three 
compartments,  of  which  the  central  one  is  the 
widest.  It  is  ten  feet  seven  inches  high,  and  at 
the  base  of  the  loft,  measures  nineteen  feet  three 
inches  across.  The  lower  part  of  the  central 
compartment,  which  went  to  form  the  doors,  is 
missing.  The  upper  part  is  arched,  and  down 
the  centre  of  the  arch  runs  a  mullion.  This 
description  of  the  upper  portion  corresponds  with 
the  two  side  compartments,  where,  however,  the 
mullions  are  continued  down  to  the  ground.  The 
lower  parts  on  each  side  are  filled  with  plain 
panels,  which  have  apparently  been  inserted  in 
later  times.  A  series  of  elaborate  vaulting  springs 
from    the    main    supports    of    the    structure,    and 


172  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

upholds  to  the  rood  loft,  which  projects  over 
the  top  of  the  screen.  The  vaulting  is 
covered  with  fan  tracery,  the  spaces  between  the 
ribs  being  filled  in  with  a  rich  design.  The  loft 
is  between  three  and  four  feet  in  width,  and  the 
cross  beam  on  which  it  rests  is  seven  inches  wide. 
Admission  to  the  loft  is  gained  from  the  south 
side,  through  a  narrow  arched  opening  in  the 
wall.  The  steps  originally  descended  into  the 
south  aisle,  but  there  are  only  five  of  them  now 
remaining. 

The  counties  of  Devon  and  Somerset  probably 
contain  some  of  the  finest  examples  of  rood 
screens  and  rood  lofts.  On  one  at  least  of  these 
the  rood  has  lately  been  replaced,  for  in  a  recent 
number  of  Notes  and  Queries*  Mr.  Harry  Hems, 
of  Exeter,  writes  as  follows  :—  "  The  only  rood 
screen  I  recollect  for  the  moment  having  the 
three  figures  upon  it,  is  at  St.  Andrew's,  Kenn. 
I  placed  them  there  some  seven  or  eight  years 
ao-o. 

There  seems  now  to  be  a  general  inclination 
towards  a  revival  of  the  rood  screen.  Even  in 
our  most  recently  built  churches,  a  temporary 
screen,  festooned  with  flowers  or  other  decorations, 

*  8th  S.  V.  150,  Feb.  24th,  1894. 


THE  ROOD  LOFT.  173 

may  often  be  seen  erected  on  the  occasion  of 
harvest  festivals,  and  such-like  celebrations. 
Whether  or  no  the  setting  up  of  the  rood  in  the 
rood  loft  will  ever  again  become  customary  in  the 
English  Church,  is  a  question  time  alone  can 
solve. 


armour  in  Cburcbes. 

By  J.  Charles  Cox,  ll.d.,  f.s.a. 

THE  memorial  brasses,  the  incised  slabs,  and 
especially  the  effigies  of  knights  and  men- 
at-arms,  which  abound  in  our  churches,  tell  us  far 
more  of  the  successive  stages  and  development  of 
English  arms  and  armour,    both  of  an   offensive 

o 

and  defensive  character,  than  all  the  manuscript 
inventories  or  actual  collections  of  weapons  that 
are  yet  extant.  And  not  only  do  our  churches 
thus  yield  the  most  valuable  and  trustworthy 
evidence  as  to  the  armour  of  our  forefathers,  by  its 
faithful  pourtrayal  on  the  memorials  of  the 
departed,  but  they  also  afford  a  sanctuary  in 
numerous  cases  for  actual  armour. 

It  was  for  many  centuries  a  custom  of 
Christendom — apparently  more  particularly  in 
England  than  elsewhere — to  suspend  over  the 
tomb  the  principal  arms  of  the  departed  warrior, 
which  had  previously  been  carried  in  the  funeral 
procession.  Hearne,  the  well-known  antiquary  of 
last  century,  says  that  the  custom  originated  with 


ARMOUR  IN  CHURCHES.  175 

Canute  placing  his  crown  upon  the  head  of  the 
crucifix  at  Winchester,  when  he  found  that  the 
waves  refused  to  obey  him  ;  but  it  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  follow  the  reasoning  which  makes  this 
a  precedent  for  the  hanging  up  of  the  dead  man's 
armour. 

The  custom  is  twice  noted  by  Shakespeare.  In 
"  Hamlet,"  Laertes  says  : — 

"  His  means  of  death,  his  obscure  burial — 
No  trophy,  sword,  nor  hatchment  o'er  his  bones, 
No  noble  rite,  nor  formal  ostentation." 

Iden,  in  "  Henry   VI.,"  remarks  : — 

"  Is't  Cade  that  I  have  slain,  that  monstrous  traitor, 
Sword,  I  will  hallow  thee  for  this  thy  deed, 
And  hang  thee  o'er  my  tomb,  when  I  am  dead." 

The  armour  in  our  churches  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes  ;  firstly,  that  which  had  actually  been 
worn  by  the  person  commemorated,  and  secondly, 
that  which  was  specially  constructed  for  funeral 
purposes. 

The  most  deeply  interesting  and  the  oldest  of 
genuine  armour  still  preserved  within  English 
churches,  is  that  which  pertained  to  the  Black 
Prince,  and  which  hangs  above  his  well-known 
tomb  in  the  cathedral  church  of  Canterbury.  In 
June,      1894,      ^is     armour     was     exhibited    at 


176  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Burlington  House,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries,  when  we  had  special  opportunities 
of  examining  it.  The  great  tilting  helm  of  iron 
weighs  seven  pounds.  The  leathern  cap  inside  it 
is  almost  worn  away.  The  gilded  long-tailed  lion 
which  forms  the  crest  is  of  leather.  The  great 
shield  of  France  and  England  quarterly  is  also  of 
embossed  leather.  The  gauntlets  are  of  latten, 
and  still  retain  the  inner  leather  gloves.  The 
sword-scabbard  and  buckle  are  of  the  same 
material ;  the  sword  itself  is  unfortunately 
missing,  and  is  said  to  have  been  appropriated 
by  Oliver  Cromwell  when  visiting  Canterbury. 

The  surcoat,  which  laced  up  the  back,  is  of 
velvet,  and  well  padded.  It  is  not  a  little 
remarkable  that  the  arms  of  neither  shield  nor 
surcoat  bear  any  label  or  mark  of  cadency,  but  are 
simply  royal  arms.  Mr.  St.  John  Hope 
ingeniously  conjectures  that  this  singular  omission 
can  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition 
that  the  relics  were  really  those  of  Edward 
III.,  and  not  of  his  son,  the  Black  Prince, 
and  that  they  were  hung  up  over  the  son's 
tomb  by  the  king's  order  as  a  mark  of  his  deep 
affection. 

At    the   same    exhibition    the  actual    shield   of 


ARMOUR  IN  CHURCHES.  177 

Henry  V.,  from  Westminster  Abbey,  was  also 
shown. 

Sir  David  Owen,  by  his  will,  dated  February 
20th,  1529,  desires  that  "my  body  be  buried  in 
the  priory  of  Esseborne,  after  the  degree  of  a 
banneret,  that  is  with  helmet  and  sword,  my 
war  armour,  my  banner,  my  standard,  and  my 
pendant." 

Sir  Godfrey  Foljambe,  of  Walton,  by  his  will, 
in  1532,  left  his  "carcase  to  be  buried  in  the 
chappell  of  St.  George  besides  my  lady  wife  in 
Chesterfield  .  .  .  my  sword,  helmet,  with  the 
crest  upon  the  head,  and  my  coat-of-arms  to  be 
hanged  over  my  tomb,  and  there  to  remain  for 
ever. 

Several  of  our  parish  churches  still  retain  arms 
or  armour  or  other  accoutrements  that  had 
actually  been  worn  by  the  person  commemorated. 
Among  them,  to  our  own  knowledge,  may  be 
mentioned  Bonsall,  Derbyshire ;  Brington,  North- 
amptonshire ;  Addington,  Surrey  ;  Sheriff  Hutton, 
Yorkshire ;  Broadwater,  Sussex ;  St.  Michael 
Carhayes,  Cornwall ;  St.  Mary  Redcliffe,  Bristol ; 
Brabourne,  Kent  ;  and  Longbridge  Deverill, 
Wilts. 

Occasionally,   however,  and  particularly   in  the 

12 


i7S  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  the  armour 
carried  in  the  funeral  procession,  and  subsequently 
suspended  over  the  tomb,  was  merely  supplied  by 
the  undertaker  or  heraldic  official,  and  was  of  a 
cheap  and  imitative  character,  not  intended  to 
last.  Sir  William  Dugdale  states  (in  1667)  the 
actual  price  of  such  sham  armour.  A  knight's 
helmet,  gilt  with  silver  and  gold,  was  £\  ;  the 
crest,  carved  and  coloured,  13s.  ;  the  sword,  with 
velvet  scabbard,  10s.  ;  gauntlets,  10s.  ;  and  gilt 
spurs,  5s.  Light  helmets  and  breastplates  of 
this  funeral-trophy  description,  from  which  all  gilt 
and  beauty  has  long  since  disappeared,  are  still  to 
be  found  in  some  of  our  churches,  and  occasionally 
may  be  seen  among  discarded  lumber  in  parvises, 
as  at  Raunds,  Northamptonshire. 

There  is,  however,  a  yet  more  important  aspect 
of  armour  in  churches  to  be  considered.  Every 
parish  in  England,  from  the  time  of  Edward  I. 
downwards,  was  bound  to  keep  ready  for  use  a 
certain  amount  of  armour,  and  a  man  or  men, 
according  to  the  population  of  the  township, 
properly  trained  to  the  use  of  this  armour.  This 
armour  had  to  be  viewed  twice  a  year  by  the 
constables,  and  a  report  as  to  its  condition  made 
to  the   justices.      Not   infrequently,   when  a  suit- 


ARMOUR  IN  CHURCHES.  179 

able  "  church-house  "  was  wanting,  the  "  townes 
armour"  of  our  English  villages,  and  even  of 
country  towns,  was  kept  in  the  church  itself, 
particularly  in  the  parvise  or  room  over  the 
porch. 

When  the  parish  armour  was  carefully  viewed 
throughout  England  at  the  time  of  the  expected 
Spanish  invasion  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
returns  show  that  much  of  it  was  in  safe  quarters 
within  the  consecrated  walls  of  our  churches. 
We  have  met  with  various  instances  of 
inventories  or  mention  of  "townes  armour"  in 
old  constable  accounts.  One  of  the  fullest  of 
these  is  in  the  parish  books  of  Repton,  Derby- 
shire.     In  1590  is  this  entry  : — 

"  A  Note  of  the  armoure  of  Repton  receaved  into  the 
handes  of  Rycharde  Weatte,  berjinge  Constable. 

Imprimis  ij  corsletts  wth  all  that  belongeth  unto  them. 

It.  ij  platt'  cotts  (coats  of  plate  armour). 

It.  ij  svvordes  and  iij  daigers  and  ij  gyrgells. 

It.  ij  calevers  wth  flaxes  and  tuch  boxe. 

It.  ij  pyckes  and  ij  halberds. 

It.  for  the  Tr'band  Souldiar  a  cote  and  bowe  and  a  shiffe 
of  arrowes  and  a  quiver." 

In  16 1 6,  the  inventory  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Receaved  by  Christopher  Ward  Constable  from  John 
Couttrell  the  Townes  Armore. 


180  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

2  Corsletts  with  2  pickes. 

2  Culivers. 

One  flask  and  tuch  boxe. 

V  headpeeces ;  towe  of  them  ould  ones. 

2  howlboardes. 

One  payre  of  Banddelrowes. 

2  oulde  girdles. 

3  new  girdles ;  towe  of  them  with  ye  sowldiers. 
3  payre  of  hanggers  in  the  sowldiers  keepinge. 
3  swordes  with  towe  daggers. 

Allsoe  the  swordes  in  sowldiers  keepinge. 

Allsoe  2  platte  coottes  yl  Clocksmith  not  delivered." 

This  armour  was  kept  in  the  parish  church  at 
Repton  ;  up  to  the  year  1840  some  of  it  still  re- 
mained in  the  parvise  or  room  over  the  south 
porch. 

In  the  first  year  of  Elizabeth,  it  is  recorded 
that  there  was  in  the  parish  church  of  Darley, 
Derbyshire,  "  within  ye  steepul  both  harnes  and 
weapons  in  redynes  for  one  billman  and  for  one 
archer." 

In  Cussans'  county  history  of  Hertfordshire,  it 
is  recorded  that  some  "twenty  years  ago,"  the 
south  porch  of  Baldock  church  was  enlarged  by 
removing  the  floor  of  the  parvise.  This  chamber, 
which  had  remained  closed  for  many  years,  was 
found  to  be  nearly  filled  with  armour,  helmets, 
pikes,    and  other  weapons.      It  was  assumed  by 


ARMOUR  IN  CHURCHES.  181 

Cussans  that  this  was  a  collection  of  armour, 
heaped  together  from  tombs  over  which  they 
had  been  suspended,  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  it  was  merely  the  old  store  of  town's 
armour. 


©eating  tbe  Bounfcs. 

By  John  T.  Page. 

IN  those  early  days,  when  deities  were  called 
into  existence  at  the  sweet  will  of  every 
potentate,  we  note  the  fact  that  somewhere 
between  the  years  715-672  B.C.,  King  Numa 
Pompilius  introduced  to  the  Roman  citizens,  the 
worship  of  the  god  Terminus.  He  originated  a 
plan,  by  which  the  fields  of  the  citizens  were 
separated  from  each  other  by  means  of  boundary 
stones,  which  stones  were  dedicated,  and  made 
sacred  to  the  god  Terminus.  The  Terminalia,  as 
the  festival  of  Terminus  was  called,  was  celebrated 
annually  on  the  23rd  of  February.  On  this  day 
the  people  turned  out  in  force,  and  visiting  the 
different  boundary  stones,  decked  them  with 
flowers,  and  performed  sacrificial  rites  amid  great 
rejoicings. 

From  the  seventh  century  B.C.,  to  the  end  of  the 
nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era  is  a  long 
stride,  but  it  is  pretty  generally  considered  that  in 
this  annual  Terminalia  of  the  ancient  Romans,  we 


BEATING  THE  BOUNDS.  183 

have  the  germ  of  the  custom  known  as  "  Beating 
the  Bounds,"  which  in  many  parishes  throughout 
England  is  still  carried  out  annually.* 

The  early  Christians  readily  adapted  some  of 
the  best  heathen  customs  to  their  own  require- 
ments, and  thus  we  soon  find  them  making  a 
perambulation  round  their  fields,  accompanied  by 
their  bishops  and  clergy.  They  repeated  litanies, 
and  implored  God  to  avert  plague  and  pestilence, 
and  to  enable  them  in  due  season  to  reap  the  fruits 
of  the  earth.  "The  Litanies  or  Rogations  then 
used  gave  the  name  of  Rogation  Week  to  this 
time.  They  occur  as  early  as  the  550th  year  of 
the  Christian  era,  when  they  were  first  observed 
by  Mamertius,  Bishop  of  Vienna,  on  account  of 
the  frequent  earthquakes  that  happened,  and  the 
incursions  of  wild  beasts,  which  laid  in  ruins  and 
depopulated  the  city.-'  t 

Some  idea  of  the  importance  which  eventually 
came  to  be  attached  to  this  Rogation  time,  may 
be  o-athered  from  an  old  sermon,  still  extant,  in 
which  the  preacher,  after  animadverting  upon  a 
growing  misuse  of  the  festival  by   certain   people, 


*   In  some  parishes  a  Triennial  or  even  Septennial  visit  to  the  boundaries 
is  considered  sufficient, 
t  Brand. 


1 84  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

tells  them  that  for  this  cause  "it  is  merveyle  God 
destroye  us  not  in  one  daye," — and  then  proceeds 
as  follows  : — "  In  these  Rogation  Days,  it  is  to  be 
asked  of  God,  and  prayed  for,  that  God  of  his 
goodness  wyll  defende  and  save  the  corne  in  the 
felde,  and  that  he  wyll  vouchsave  to  pourge  the  ayer. 
For  this  cause  be  certaine  Gospels  red  in  the  wide 
felde  amonges  the  corne  and  grasse,  that  by  the 
vertue  and  operation  of  God's  word,  the  power  of 
the  wicked  spirites,  which  kepe  in  the  air  and 
infecte  the  same  (whence  come  pestilences  and 
the  other  kyndes  of  diseases  and  syknesses)  may 
be  layde  downe,  and  the  aier  made  pure  and  cleane, 
to  th'  intent  the  corne  may  remaine  unharmed, 
and  not  infected  of  the  sayd  hurteful  spirites,  but 
serve  us  for  our  use  and  bodely  sustenaunce." 

Jn  order  that  we  may  now  get  a  better  idea  of 
what  these  processions  were  like,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  turn  to  Shaw's  History  of  Stafford- 
shire* We  there  learn  that  "Among  the  local 
customs  which  have  prevailed  (at  Wolverhampton), 
may  be  noticed  that  which  was  popularly  called 
'  Processioning.'  Many  of  the  older  inhabitants 
can  well  remember  when  the  sacrist,  resident 
prebendaries,  and  members  of  the  choir,  assembled 

*  Vol.  ii.,  part  i.,  p.  165. 


BEATING  THE  BOUNDS.  185 

at  Morning  Prayers  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  in 
Rogation  Week,  with  the  charity  children,  bearing 
long  poles  clothed  with  all  kinds  of  flowers  then 
in  season,  and  which  were  afterwards  carried 
through  the  streets  of  the  town  with  much 
solemnity,  the  clergy,  singing  men  and  boys, 
dressed  in  their  sacred  vestments,  closing  the 
procession,  and  chanting  in  a  grave  and  appro- 
priate melody,  the  Canticle,  Benedicite  Omnia 
Opera,   etc.     ...      It  was  discontinued   about 

1765." 

In  the  seventeenth  century  mention  is  often 
made  of  the  Rogation  week  processions  in  the 
Articles  of  Enquiry  in  the  different  Archdeaconries. 
As  an  example  we  may  cite  the  following  from  the 
Archdeaconry  of  Middlesex,  under  date  1662. 
"  Doth  your  minister  or  curate,  in  Rogation  Dayes, 
go  in  Perambulation  about  your  Parish,  saying  and 
using  the  Psalms  and  Suffrages  by  Law  appointed, 
as  viz.,  Psalm  103  and  104,  the  Letany  and 
Suffrages,  together  with  the  Homily,  set  out  for 
that  end  and  purpose  ?  Doth  he  admonish  people 
to  give  thanks  to  God,  if  they  see  any  likely  hopes 
of  plenty,  and  to  call  upon  him  for  mercy,  if  there 
be  any  fear  of  scarcity  :  and  do  you,  the  Church- 
wardens, assist  him  in  it  ?  " 


186  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

The  judicious  Hooker  ''would  by  no  means 
omit  the  customary  time  of  Procession,  persuad- 
ing all,  both  rich  and  poor,  if  they  desired  the 
preservation  of  love  and  their  parish  rights  and 
liberties,  to  accompany  him  in  his  Perambulation  : 
and  most  did  so  :  in  which  Perambulation  he 
would  usually  express  more  pleasant  discourse 
than  at  other  times,  and  would  then  always  drop 
some  loving:  and  facetious  observations,  to  be 
remembered  against  the  next  year,  especially  by 
the  boys  and  young  people. "# 

As  might  have  been  expected,  some  very 
curious  entries  appear  in  the  churchwardens' 
books  of  different  parishes  relative  to  expenses 
incurred  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  procession. 
From  the  parish  books  of  St.  Margaret,  West- 
minster, the  following  have  been  culled  : — 

"1555.  Item,  paid  for  spiced  bread  on  the  Ascension- 
Even,  and  on  the  Ascension  Day,  is." 

"1556.  Item,  paid  for  bread,  wine,  ale,  and  beer,  upon 
the  Ascension-Even  and  Day,  against  my  Lord 
Abbott  and  his  Covent  cam  in  Procession,  and  for 
strewing  herbs  the  samme  day,  7s.  id." 

"1559.  Item,  for  bread,  ale,  and  beer,  on  Tewisday  in 
the  Rogacion  Weeke,  for  the  parishioners  that  went 
in  Procession,  is." 

*  '•  Walton's  Life.'" 


BEATING  THE  BOUNDS.  187 

"1560.     Item,  for  bread  and  drink  for  the  parishioners 

that  went  die  Circuit  the  Tuesday  in  the  Rogation 

Week,  3s.  4d." 
"Item,    for    bread    and     drink    the    Wednesday    in    the 

Rogation  Week,  for  Mr.  Archdeacon  and  the  Quire 

of  the  Minster,  3s.  4d." 
"  1585.      Item,  paid  for  going  the  Perambulacion,  for  fish, 

butter,    cream,    milk,    conger,   bread  and  drink,   and 

other  necessaries,  4s.  S)4.d." 
"1597.     Item,  for  the  charges  of  diet  at  Kensington  for 

the   Perambulation  of   the    Parish,  being  a  yeare  of 

great  scarcity  and  deerness,  £6  8s.  8d." 
"  1605.      Item,  paid  for  bread,  drink,  cheese,  fish,  cream, 

and    other    necessaries,    when    the    worshipfull    and 

others    of    the    parish    went    the    Perambulation    to 

Kensington,  £15." 

By  way  of  accessories,  the  customs  of  "whipp- 
ing" and  "bumping0  gradually  came  to  form 
part  of  the  perambulation  ceremony.  In  order 
that  the  boundaries  of  the  parishes  might  be 
indelibly  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  younger 
portion  of  the  community,  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  bump  some  promising  boy  painfully 
against  the  boundary  stones  ;  or  better  still,  to 
publicly  whip  him  while  he  strove  to  impress  on 
his  memory  the  exact  position  of  the  same  land- 
marks. 

As  a  set  off  against  this  public  humilia- 
tion, the  boys  had  a  present  of  money  given  to 


1 83  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS 

them,  and  accordingly  there  appears  an  entry  in 
the  Chelsea  parish  books,  in  1670,  as  follows  : — 

"  Given  to  the  boys  that  were  whipt,  4s."* 

The  process  of  "  bumping  "  has  been  carried  on 
until  quite  recently,  for  on  June  8th,  1881,  the 
Guardian  reported  a  case  in  which  three  men 
who  were  engaged  in  "  Beating  the  Bounds" 
were  fined  ,£5  each  for  forcibly  "  bumping "  the 
senior  curate  of  Hanwell.  They  met  the  curate 
and  "asked  him  to  go  and  be  'bumped.'  Upon 
his  declining-  two  of  the  defendants  took  hold  of 
his  arms  and  dragged  him  to  the  stone,  one  of  the 
party  taking  him  by  the  leg  and  lifting  him  bodily 
from  the  ground.  On  reaching  the  stone,  they 
'  bumped  '  him  against  a  man." 

It  would  take  too  long  to  mention  all  the 
numerous  observances  which  still  linger  on  in 
various  places  in  connection  with  this  ancient  and 
interesting  custom.  In  most  parishes  where 
it  is  still  kept  up,  the  ceremony  is  performed 
annually  on  Ascension  Day.  A  friend  of 
the  writer  thus  describes  the  way  in  which  it  is 
carried  out  in  one  of  the  outlying  districts  of 
London  : — 

*  Lysons'  "  Loiitlon^  ii  ,  126. 


BEATING  THE  BOUNDS.  189 

"  We  assembled,  by  invitation,  at  the  Vestry 
Hall,  about  to  o'clock  a.m.  I  should  think  there 
were  thirty  or  forty  gentlemen  present,  including 
the  rector,  churchwardens,  and  various  officers  of 
the  parish,  and  about  the  same  number  of  school- 
boys. The  gentlemen  wore  rosettes,  and 
carried  rods,  and  the  boys  were  provided 
with  longr  willow  wands  decked  with  blue  ribbons. 
The  parish  beadle,  carrying  the  mace,  marched  in 
front.  When  we  came  to  any  of  the  boundary 
stones  of  the  parish,  they  were  duly  examined  to 
see  if  they  were  in  their  proper  position,  and  then 
the  boys  gave  three  cheers,  and  beat  them  with 
their  wands.  We  marched  through  private 
houses  and  warehouses,  over  walls,  ditches, 
canals,  etc.,  and  were  taken  down  the  river  in  a 
barge,  until  at  last  we  came  to  our  starting-point 
again  about  4-30  in  the  afternoon.  The  church- 
wardens then  presented  each  of  the  boys  with 
a  new  shilling  and  dismissed  them." 

In  these  days  of  ordnance  maps,  there  may  be 
very  little  practical  utility  in  "  Beating  the 
Bounds,"  but  as  Wordsworth  says  : — 

"  Many  precious  relics 
And  customs  of  our  rural  ancestry 
Are  gone  or  stealing  from  us." 


i9o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Time  is  ever  busy  blotting  out  the  land-marks 
which  our  ancestors  reared  with  so  much  patience 
for  our  behoof.  It  is  well,  therefore,  if  occasionally, 
with  reverential  spirit,  we  try  to  set  in  order  the 
fragments  of  those  that  still  remain.  In  so 
doing,  we  may  perchance  cull  some  useful  lesson, 
and  ere  they  pass  away  for  ever,  haply  profit  by 
the  experiences  which  they  record. 


Gfoc  5toi*\>  of  the   Grosiec 

By  the  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tvack,  b.a. 

THE  staff  of  authority,  which  we  have  in  so 
many  forms,  as  sceptre,  crosier,  mace,  wand, 
or  otherwise,  has  its  origin  in  each  case  in  one  of 
two  ideas.  Sometimes  it  is  an  instrument  of 
correction  ;  thus  the  churchwarden's  staff,  the 
wand  or  rod  of  a  royal  usher,  and  of  a  beadle,  and 
probably  also  the  mace  of  a  mayor,  were  all,  like 
the  fasces  of  a  Roman  governor,  intended  to 
correct  the  unruly,  or  to  forcibly  clear  a  way,  when 
necessary,  for  the  progress  of  the  dignitary  before 
whom  they  were  borne.  In  other  cases  this 
symbol  of  authority,  as  it  has  now  become,  was 
originally  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  trusty 
staff  on  which  the  aged  ruler  leaned,  as  on  a 
modern  walking  stick.  All  language  points  to  the 
fact  that  age  was  at  first  considered  an  essential 
condition  of  dignity  and  authority,  for  almost  all 
terms  of  respect  imply  the  seniority  of  the  person 
addressed.  Sir,  sieur  or  monsieur,  signor,  senor, 
are  of  course  but  varied  forms  of  the  word  senior ; 


i92  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  we  have  more  particular  instances  in  the  terms 
sire,  senator,  and  alderman,  in  matters  of  state, 
with  patriarch,  father  (applied  to  a  bishop  or  a 
priest)  and  pope,  abbot,  priest,  presbyter,  or  elder, 
in  the  Church.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the 
earliest  times  the  aged  ruler  was  usually  seen 
supporting  his  weight  of  years  by  the  help  of  his 
staff;  and  the  step  from  this  familiar  sight  to  the 
idea  that  the  staff  symbolized  his  rule,  was  simple 
and  natural.  The  sceptre,  therefore,  which  was 
the  needful  support  of  Homer's  old  councillors, 
has  become  the  emblem  of  royal  power  ;  and  the 
crutch-stick  of  the  aged  bishop  is  transfigured  into 
the  crosier. 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  obviously  impossible 
to  fix  the  exact  date  at  which  the  crosier,  or  any 
other  of  these  staves  of  office,  came  to  be  re- 
cognized simply  as  such,  the  progress  from  the 
first  idea  being  in  all  cases  a  gradual  development. 
We  find  the  episcopal  staff,  however,  mentioned 
in  connection  with  S.  Csesarius  of  Aries,  who  was 
bishop  of  that  See  from  a.d.  501  to  542,  and  it  is 
also  referred  to  by  Gregory,  Bishop  of  Tours,  in 
the  same  century,  and  again  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  Fourth  Council  of  Toledo  a  little  later. 

In  primitive  times  it  was  made  of  wood,  usually 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CROSIER.  193 

of  elder,  or,  as  some  say,  of  cypress,  and   in   the 

form   of  a   T  ;  and   the   name  expressive  of  that 

shape   seems   to    have   lingered    long,  at   least   in 

England.      Pilkington,    Bishop   of   Durham,  from 

1 56 1  to  1577,  speaks  once  and  again  of  the  "  cruche 

and  mitre."      But  as  the  symbolical  idea  grew  and 

the    wealth    of    the    church    increased,    the    staff 

naturally    became     handsomer     in     design     and 

materials,   as    being    expressive  of   the    episcopal 

dignity.      Jewels    and    the   precious    metals    were 

employed    in    its    adornment,    and    comparatively 

soon  it  assumed  the  crook  shape,  now  its  universal 

form,  significant  of  the  office  of  the  Bishop  as  the 

Chief  Shepherd  of  his  diocese.      In   the   Eastern 

Church  the  curved  staff  is  said  to  be  reserved  for 

the  Patriarchs. 

The  pastoral  idea  of  the  clerical,  and  especially 

of  the   episcopal   office,  probably   arose   from   our 

Lord's    assumption    of    the    title    of    "  the    Good 

Shepherd,"  and  was  further  emphasized  by    His 

charge  to  S.     Peter,  "  Feed  My  sheep,   feed  My 

lambs."       In   allusion   to   this,    the   figure   of   the 

Saviour  presenting  that  Apostle  with  a  crooked 

staff  is   familiar    in   Art,   and    the    thought    finds 

expression    in    several    writers    of    the     English 

Church.     Jewell,  Bishop  of  Salisbury  (1560-1571) 

13 


i94  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

writes,  "  Their  crosier's  staff  signifies  diligence  in 
attending  the  flock  of  Christ,"  and  William 
Tyndale  speaks  of  "  that  Shepherd's  crook,  the 
bishop's  crose."  More  authoritative  is  the  allusion 
in  the  Ordinal,  where,  at  the  consecration  of  a 
bishop,  the  rubric  runs,  "Then  shall  the  Arch- 
bishop put  into  his  hand  the  pastoral  staff,  saying, 
Be  to  the  flock  of  Christ  a  shepherd,  not  a  wolf, 
feed  them,  devour  them  not."  The  words  still 
stand  in  our  prayer-books,  although  the 
accompanying  significant  act  has  not  been  enjoined 
since  the  first  book  of  Edward  VI.,  of  1549. 

Most  of  the  early  examples  of  the  use  of  the 
crosier  in  England  are  found  in  the  carvings  of 
bishops'  tombs.  We  have,  for  instance,  in  their 
Cathedral  the  effigies  of  Bartholomew  of  Exeter, 
Bishop  of  that  diocese  from  1 161  to  1 184,  bearing 
a  staff,  the  butt  of  which  pierces  a  dragon  at  his 
feet ;  and  of  Simon  of  Apulia,  who  followed  in  the 
same  See  in  12 14  to  1224,  with  the  same  insignia. 
Other  figures  might  be  mentioned  at  York, 
Salisbury,  Worcester,  Wells,  and  indeed  in  most 
of  our  Cathedrals,  the  form  of  the  crosier  varying 
little  in  the  several  cases,  except  in  richness  of 
design.  The  curious  and  more  than  questionable 
custom  of  making,  in  a  kind  of  sport,  a  Boy  Bishop, 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CROSIER.  195 

is  commemorated  at  Salisbury  by  the  tomb  of  one 
such,  whose  effigy  bears  the  crosier  along  with 
the  other  marks  of  his  sham  dignity. 

The  finest  specimen  of  an  ancient  staff  still  pre- 
served among  us,  is  that  of  William  of  Wykeham, 
Bishop  of  Winchester  (1367- 1405),  bequeathed  by 
that  great  prelate  himself  to  New  College,  Oxford. 

After  the  Reformation,  in  the  general  decline  of 
ceremonial  and  symbolism,  the  pastoral  staff  and 
the  mitre  fell  alike  into  disuse  in  England,  sur- 
viving only  as  senseless  decorations,  or  heraldic 
additions  to  the  tombs  or  arms  of  bishops,  who 
had  never  used  either  the  one  or  the  other,  had 
perhaps  never  even  seen  them.  At  the  pre- 
sent time  the  use  of  the  crosier  has  once  more 
become  almost  universal  in  the  English  dioceses, 
and  the  added  dignity  of  the  mitre  promises  soon 
to  be  scarcely  less  frequently  found. 

But  besides  the  bishops,  the  abbots  of  the  most 
important  monastic  foundations  formerly  bore  and 
wore  crosier  and  mitre  in  token  of  their  authority, 
the  mark  of  difference  being  that  while  the  bishop 
had  his  crosier  carried  with  the  crook  turned 
outwards  as  a  sign  of  his  rule  over  the  whole 
diocese,  the  abbot  carried  his,  usually  one  of 
simpler    design,     crook    inwards,    to    signify    the 


196  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

purely  domestic  or  internal  character  of  his 
government. 

The  English  mitred  abbots  sat  and  voted  in  the 
House  of  Lords  until  the  dissolution  of  their 
communities  under  Henry  VIII.  They  were  the 
heads  of  the  following  abbeys,  namely,  S.  Albans, 
Glastonbury,  Westminster,  Bury  S.  Edmund's, 
Bardney,  Shrewsbury,  Crowland,  Abington,  Eve- 
sham, Gloucester.  Ramsey,  York  (S.  Mary's), 
Tewkesbury,  Reading,  Battle,  Winchcourt,  Hide- 
by- Winchester,  Cirencester,  Waltham,  Thorney, 
Canterbury  (S.  Augustine's),  Selby,  Peterborough, 
Colchester  (S.  John's),  and  Tavistock,  twenty-five 
in  all,  of  which  the  last  was  considerably  the  latest 
addition  to  the  list. 

One  of  the  earliest  examples  of  the  abbatial 
staff  in  England  is  on  the  tomb  of  Abbot  Vitalis 
(died  1082)  in  the  cloister  of  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  another  early  instance  of  its  use  is  supplied  by 
the  effigy  of  Abbot  Andrew  (1 193-1200)  in 
Peterborough  Cathedral.  Parker,  the  last  Abbot 
of  Gloucester,  lies  buried  in  the  Cathedral  there, 
and  Philip  Ballard  de  Hanford,  the  last  Abbot  of 
Evesham,  in  Worcester  Cathedral,  each  with  his 
crosier. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  an  effort  should  be 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CROSIER.  197 

made  to  remove  a  misconception.  A  common 
modern  fallacy  is  that  there  is  a  distinction  between 
the  crosier  and  the  pastoral  staff,  the  latter  name 
being  assigned  to  the  crook  of  a  bishop,  and  the 
former  to  the  processional  cross  borne  before  an 
Archbishop.  The  late  Dean  Hook,  if  he  was  not 
the  originator  of  the  idea  in  an  article  in  his 
"  Church  Dictionary,"  at  any  rate  did  much  to  pro- 
pagate it  thereby,  and  it  is  now  frequently  found 
in  books  of  reference.  But  the  use  of  the  words 
in  the  past  is  all  against  it.  It  is  true  that  crosier 
comes  from  the  Latin  crux,  a  cross,  but  from  the 
same  root  too,  come  crook  and  crutch  ;  so  that 
nothing  can  be  proved  from  the  derivation.  It 
would  seem  that  the  original  form  of  the  word  was 
crose,  as  it  is  given  in  a  quotation  used  above, 
whence  the  chaplain  who  bore  it  was  a  crosier. 
From  this  it  became  the  crosier's  staff,  the  crosier- 
staff,  and  finally  the  crosier  ;  all  having  reference 
to  the  crook  of  Episcopal  Authority. 


Bisbops  in  Battle 

By     Edward     Lam plough. 

AFTER  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  came 
in  with  great  toil  and  rout  of  war,  on 
Senlac's  evil  day,  it  was  not  difficult  to  apply  the 
poet's  lines  to  many  a  proud  prelate  of  the  Anglo- 
Norman  epoch  : — 

"  Princely  was  his  hand  in  largess,  heavy  was  his  arm  to  smite, 
And  his  will  was  leaded  iron,  like  the  mace  he  bore  in  fight." 

Not  that  English  Bishops  had  not  found  it 
necessary  to  take  the  field  in  pre-conquest  times, 
when  the  old  Danish  wars  convulsed  the  island, 
and  the  inhabitants  suffered  severely  from  the 
unbridled  passion  and  cruelty  of  a  barbarous  and 
heathen  soldiery. 

Many  a  grand  old  Anglo-Saxon  prelate  found 
himself  called  upon  as  a  Christian  and  a  patriot  to 
take  his  station  in  the  van  of  the  king's  army,  to 
bar  the  path  of  the  invader,  and  fence  with  sword 
and  spear  the  ancient  churches  and  the  fruitful 
plains  of  his  beloved  island. 

The  old  English  chroniclers  have  preserved  for 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  199 

us  the  names  of  a  few  of  those  warrior  bishops. 
Ealstan,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  may  be  specially 
referred  to.  a.d.  823,  he  assisted  Prince  Ethel- 
wulf  during  an  expedition  into  Kent,  and  in  845 
he  was  one  of  the  commanders  in  the  great 
victory  over  the  Danes  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Parret.  He  died,  full  of  years  and  honours,  in 
that  unhappy  and  troublous  867,  having  held  the 
Bishopric  of  Sherborne  fifty  years.  His  successor, 
Bishop  Heahmund,  was  not  so  fortunate ;  he 
fought  under  Ethelred  and  Alfred  during  the 
sanguinary  and  disastrous  campaign  of  871,  and 
was  slain  at  Marden,  when  victory  remained  with 
the  Danes.  When  Edmund  Ironsides  en- 
countered Canute  at  Assingdon,  and  was  betrayed 
by  that  infamous  traitor  Edric  Streon,  among  those 
who  swelled  the  huge  death-mounds  was  Ednoth, 
Bishop  of  Dorchester,  and  Abbot  Wulsy,  but 
Hoveden  asserts  that  "  they  had  come  for  the 
purpose  of  invoking  the  Lord  on  behalf  of  the 
soldiers." 

Another  Bishop  of  Sherborne  was  slain  on  the 
eve  of  Brunnanburgh,  a.d.  937.  When  the  two 
armies  were  within  striking  distance,  and  prepared 
for  what  was  certain  to  prove  a  sanguinary  and 
stubborn   conflict,   Anlaf,   disguised    as    a    harper, 


2oo  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

entered  the  lines  of  Athelstan's  army,  and,  by  the 
merit  of  his  performance,  was  admitted  into  the 
royal  presence,  and  received  several  pieces  of  gold 
in  reguerdon  of  his  skill.  Too  proud  to  carry 
away  his  minstrel's  fee,  he  secreted  it  beneath  the 
turf,  before  passing  out  of  the  camp.  During  the 
performance  he  had  been  narrowly  scrutinised  by 
one  of  Athelstan's  soldiers,  who  had  formerly 
served  the  Northumbrian  Prince,  and  was 
suspicious  that  the  talented  minstrel  was  no  other 
than  the  warlike  Anlaf,  After  witnessing  Anlaf  s 
disposal  of  his  fee,  his  suspicion  was  confirmed, 
and  he  hurried  to  Athelstan  to  warn  him  of  the 
danger  that  might  result  from  Anlaf's  visit.  His 
having  once  sworn  fealty  to  the  Northumbrian 
Prince  was  alleged  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  not 
betraying  him  into  the  king's  hands,  and  Athel- 
stan readily  accepted  the  explanation.  Neverthe- 
less, he  removed  his  tent  to  a  distant  and  less 
exposed  position  ;  and  when,  some  time  afterward, 
the  Bishop  of  Sherborne  arrived,  with  his  con- 
tingent of  warriors,  he  pitched  his  tent  on  the 
recently  vacated  ground.  That  night,  when  the 
watch-fires  burnt  low,  and,  save  the  weary 
sentinels,  the  royal  army  was  buried  in  slumber, 
Anlaf  burst  in  with  sword  and  spear,  and  a  sudden 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  201 

storm  of  midnight  battle  convulsed  the  whole 
camp.  After  a  fierce  struggle  the  enemy  was 
driven  out,  but  when  day  dawned  the  Bishop  of 
Sherborne  was  found,  cold  and  still,  in  the  midst 
of  the  slain. 

Such  was  the  nature  of  the  military  service  of 
the  church  during  the  pre-conquest  period,  and 
similar  service  was  not  infrequently  rendered 
after  the  Normans  came  in,  when  sudden  storms 
of  invasion  swept  across  the  Scottish  borders,  to 
burst  on  the  dark  and  bloody  battle-ground  of 
Northumbria. 

With  the  memorable  battle  of  Northallerton,  or 
the  Standard,  a.d.  1138,  the  church  was  in  a  very 
special  degree  connected,  and  indeed  the  priesthood 
had  suffered  severely  from  the  barbarous  Scotch. 
Thus  Wendover,  "they  slew  priests  upon  the 
altars,  cut  off  the  heads  of  the  crucifixes,  and 
placed  them  on  the  decapitated  corpses,  putting  in 
their  places  the  bloody  heads  of  their  victims; 
wherever  they  went,  it  was  one  scene  of  cruelty 
and  terror  ;  women  shrieking,  old  men  lamenting, 
and  every  living  being  in  despair."  The  evil 
grew  so  intolerable  that  the  aged  Thurston,  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  incited  the  northern  barons  to 
unite  against  the    enemy,   exerting    himself   with 


202  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

almost  superhuman  energy  to  organise  the  move- 
ment, appealing  to  the  religious  feelings  of  the 
people  by  processions  of  the  clergy,  by  sermons 
and  exhortations,  and  when  the  army  arrayed 
itself  for  battle,  its  serried  ranks  surrounded  the 
famous  standard,  "  consisting  of  the  mast  of  a 
ship  securely  lashed  to  a  four-wheeled  car  or  wain. 
On  the  summit  of  this  mast  wTas  placed  a  large 
crucifix,  having  in  its  centre  a  silver  box  con- 
taining the  consecrated  host,  and  below  it  waved 
the  banners  of  the  three  patron  saints  : — Peter  of 
York,  Wilfred  of  Ripon,  and  John  of  Beverley." 
Thurston,  incapacitated  from  being  present  by 
the  infirmities  of  age,  had  delegated  Ralph 
Nowel,  the  titulary  Bishop  of  Orkney,  to  act  for 
him.  and  he  it  was,  according  to  the  old  writers, 
who  exhorted  the  army  to  make  a  brave  defence 
when  the  Scots  bore  down  upon  them,  and  the 
dreadful  conflict  commenced.  The  battle  resulted 
in  a  glorious  victory  for  the  Anglo-Norman  men- 
at-arms  and  the  peasant  archers  of  Northumbria, 
but  the  name  of  Archbishop  Thurston  is  always 
primarily  and  honourably  associated  with  this 
memorable  event. 

Under    somewhat    similar    circumstances,    a.d. 
•1319,    William  de   Melton,   Archbishop   of  York, 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  203 

seconded  by  the  Mayor,  Nicholas  Fleming,  hastily 
raised  a  tumultuary  army  of  10,000  men,  burghers 
and  peasants,  necessarily  undisciplined  and  ill- 
armed,  and  utterly  unfitted  to  dispute  the  field 
with  a  powerful  and  veteran  army,  marching  under 
Bruce's  most  experienced  and  fortunate  captains, 
Randolph  and  Douglas.  The  armies  struck  at 
Myton  Meadows,  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Swale  and  Ure,  on  September  the  13th.  With 
everything  in  their  favour  the  Scots  resorted  to 
ambuscade,  and,  sweeping  down  upon  the  startled 
enemy,  in  an  instant  covered  the  field  with  dead 
and  wounded  men,  driving  before  them  a  wild 
rout  of  fugitives.  Sir  Nicholas  Fleming,  then  in 
the  seventh  year  of  his  mayoralty,  was  slain  ;  it 
was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the  Archbishop 
effected  his  escape,  for  the  Scots  spared  none,  and 
night  alone  covered  the  remnant  of  the  army  from 
the  exterminating  sword.  Nearly  4,000  of  the 
Englishmen  were  destroyed,  including  300  priests, 
attired  in  full  canonicals,  from  which  tragic 
circumstance  the  rude  Scots  jestingly  referred  to 
the  battle  as  the  "  Chapter  of  Mitton." 

The  bearer  of  the  Archbishop's  cross  secreted 
it  on  the  field,  and  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  a 
peasant,  who,   for  some  days,   concealed  it  in  his 


2o4  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

hut,  no  doubt  tempted  by  its  value,  but  conscience 
operated  so  powerfully  that  the  good  fellow  was 
constrained  to  restore  it  to  the  Archbishop. 

A  dour  revenge  the  English  Bishops  took  upon 
their  Scottish  adversaries  in  1346,  when  King 
Edward  was  encamped  before  Calais,  and  luck- 
less David  Bruce  came  over  the  border  with 
50,000  men  at  his  back,  in  the  month  of  October. 
Queen  Philippa  bestirred  herself  with  heroic 
energy  on  this  occasion,  and  marched  with  the 
army  to  the  north.  It  was  largely  swollen  by  the 
vassals  of  the  church.  The  Bishop  of  Durham 
commanded  in  the  first  division  ;  William  de  la 
Zouche,  Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Carlisle,  led  the  second  division  ;  the  Bishop  of 
Lincoln  the  third  ;  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury the  fourth.  Edward  Baliol  and  the  principal 
nobles  of  Northumbria  shared  the  command  with 
the  prelates. 

During  the  furious  struggle  that  ensued  the 
monks  of  Durham  assembled  on  the  rising  ground 
known  as  the  Maiden's  Bower,  and  knelt  in  prayer 
around  the  banner-cloth  of  St.  Cuthbert,  or 
occupied  themselves  in  manufacturing  a  fair 
wooden  cross,  as  a  memorial  of  the  event. 

The  battle  terminated   in  a  signal   triumph  to 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  205 

the  English  army,  despite  the  distinguished 
valour  of  the  Scottish  host,  and  the  closing  scene 
was  one  of  peculiar  interest.  Almost  alone  amid 
the  wreck  of  the  field,  David  Bruce  disdained  to 
surrender,  although  "  he  had  two  spears  hanging 
in  his  body,  his  leg  almost  incurably  wounded, 
and  his  sword  beaten  out  of  his  hand,"  and  John 
Copeland,  a  sturdy  Northumbrian  squire,  was  bent 
upon  his  capture,  and  ultimately  succeeded  in 
carrying  him  off  in  triumph  to  his  castle  of  Ogle, 
but  not  until  the  fiery  Scot  had  dashed  out  two  of 
his  teeth  by  a  buffet  of  his  gauntleted  fist. 

Most  unsaintly,  perhaps,  of  all  the  English 
bishops  who  loved  the  music  of  twanging  bow- 
strings and  clashing  steel,  was  "  Weymundus  or 
Reymundus,"  first  Bishop  of  Sodar  and  Man. 
When  a  monk  of  Furness  Abbey  he  was  famous 
as  an  illuminator  and  transcriber  of  MSS.  ;  but 
accompanying  several  of  the  brethren  on  a  mission 
to  the  Isle  of  Man,  the  rude  Manxmen  were  so 
deeply  impressed  by  his  eloquence,  dignity,  and 
commanding  stature,  that  they  procured  his 
•elevation  to  the  Bishopric. 

Wymund  the  Saxon,  as  the  Bishop  is  generally 
called,  was  incited  by  an  unworthy  ambition  to 
claim  the  crown  of  Scotland,  then  worn  by  David  I. 


2o6  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Assuming  the  name  of  Malcolm  Macbeth,  he 
orave  out  that  he  was  the  son  of  An«-us,  Earl  of 
Moray,  recently  slain  at  the  battle  of  Strickathrow, 
and  who  was  the  heir  of  Macbeth's  son  and 
successor,  Leelach.  Obtaining  a  number  of  large 
boats,  he  repeatedly  attacked  the  neighbouring 
islands,  finding  numerous  intrepid  and  desperate 
adventurers  ready  to  follow  him  for  love  of 
adventure  and  plunder.  He  soon  made  his  name 
widely  known  and  feared,  and  Somerled,  Lord  of 
the  Isles,  was  induced  to  bestow  upon  him  the 
hand  of  his  daughter,  who  bore  him  a  son,  Donald 
Macbeth.  Knights  and  men-at-arms  were  des- 
patched to  foil  his  invasions  of  the  mainland,  but 
by  availing  himself  of  forest  and  mountain  fast- 
nesses, he  avoided  his  more  powerful  enemies, 
escaping  by  his  boats  when  hard  pressed.  Many 
of  the  bishops  paid  him  black-mail,  but  one  tough 
old  prelate,  a  man  after  his  own  heart,  met  him  in 
open  field,  axe  in  hand,  and  smote  him  to  the 
earth,  and  defeated  and  scattered  his  following. 
Wymund  escaped,  however,  and  soon  took  the 
field  again. 

Ultimately  David  pacified  the  claimant  by  a 
grant  of  lands,  and  Wymund  returned  to  the  Isle 
of  Man,  or,   according  to  William  of  Newbridge, 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  207 

to  the  Abbey  of  Furness,  where  his  severities  so 
enraged  the  monks  that  they  fell  on  him,  bound 
him,  and  destroyed  his  sight  and  virility.  He 
was  then  handed  over  to  King  David,  who  shut 
him  up  in  Roxburgh  Castle,  but,  after  some 
years,  transferred  him  to  Byland  Abbey,  where 
his  stories  of  adventure  by  land  and  sea  long 
delighted  the  good  fathers. 

Somerled,  endeavouring  to  maintain  the  claim 
of  Wymund's  son,  was  slain  in  battle  near 
Renfrew,  by  the  Lord  High  Steward  and  the 
Earl  of  Angus.  The  wicked  and  vexatious 
claims  of  Wymund  were  terminated  in 
1 1 64  by  the  capture  and  imprisonment  of  his 
son. 

The  necessities  of  the  times  justified  many  of 
the  prelates  in  assuming  arms,  and  Wymund 
must  be  regarded  as  an  exceptional  character, 
neither  true  priest  nor  bishop.  Nevertheless 
several  of  the  English  bishops  appear  to  have 
been  quite  willing  to  make  arms  a  profession, 
while  others,  as  Odo,  Bishop  of  Bayeux,  com- 
bined the  ecclesiastical  and  baronial  offices, 
employing  both  in  the  furtherance  of  their  personal 
ambition.  When  the  Conqueror  arrested  his 
ambitious  half-brother,  it  will  be  remembered  that 


2o8  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

he  arrested  him  not  as  the  churchman,  but  as  the 
Earl  of  Kent. 

Odo  was  a  principal  figure,  with  Geoffrey, 
Bishop  of  Coutance,  at  Senlac,  when  the  Norman 
Duke  conquered  Harold's  crown  ;  and  he  was 
held  in  well-deserved  reprobation  for  the 
sanguinary  revenge  that  he  exacted  for  the  slaying 
of  Walcher,  Bishop  of  Durham,  and  his  following 
of  a  hundred  French  and  Flemish  men-at-arms,  at 
Gateshead,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1080. 

The  death  of  the  Conqueror  let  Odo  loose  upon 
society  again,  and  he  returned  to  England,  where 
he  was  well  received  by  Rufus,  and  his  forfeited 
estates  restored.  His  unprincipled  ambition,  and 
his  rage  against  Archbishop  Lanfranc,  induced 
him  to  organise  a  conspiracy  against  the  king,  in 
which  he  was  supported  by  Bishop  Gosfrith, 
William,  Bishop  of  Durham,  and  a  number  of  the 
Anglo-Norman  nobles.  Raising  a  Saxon  army, 
Rufus  reduced  Tunbridge  and  Pevensey  Castles, 
in  the  latter  of  which  he  secured  the  arch-traitor. 
Nevertheless  Odo  was  permitted  to  proceed  to 
Rochester  Castle,  for  the  purpose  of  opening 
negotiations.     The  bravest  of  the  revolted  nobles 

o 

occupied  the  fortress,  and  Odo  remained  with 
them,  a  willing  captive,  but  the  ruse  deceived  no 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  209 

one.  After  a  tedious  siege  the  castle  was 
compelled  to  surrender,  and  Odo  issued  forth, 
amid  sounding  trumpets,  and  the  menaces  of  the 
English  soldiery,  to  depart  over  sea,  with  the 
bitter  curses  of  the  islanders  ringing  in  his  ears. 
The  Bishop  of  Durham  was  also  reduced  to 
extremities,  and,  with  many  of  the  revolted 
Normans,  sent  after  Odo,  as  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle  records. 

Men  of  Odo's  stamp  were  not  wanting  among 
the  bishops,  when  Stephen  seized  the  crown, 
barely  seventy  years  after  the  Battle  of  Hastings, 
when  the  direct  male  line  of  the  Conqueror  failed. 
During  the  period  of  almost  unparalleled  suffering 
that  followed,  bishops  were  seen  in  the  hostile 
camps,  leading  the  mercenary  soldiery,  and  even 
gambling  for  their  share  of  the  spoils  collected  by 
those  ruthless  marauders.  They  were  armed  in- 
complete mail,  bore  truncheon  and  lance,  and 
bestrode  heavy  war-steeds,  like  warlike  knights 
and  captains  of  the  mercenaries. 

Henry,      Bishop      of     Winchester,     acted      a 

prominent  part  in  the  war  between  Stephen  and 

Matilda,   changing  sides  as   policy  and   ambition 

dictated,     and    when,    after    the    revolt    of    the 

Londoners,  he  again  espoused  his  brother's  cause, 

14 


2io  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

he  had  to  retire  from  Winchester,  leaving 
Matilda  in  the  possession  of  the  castle,  while  her 
troops  closely  invested  the  episcopal  palace.  He 
speedily  re-entered  Winchester  with  a  considerable 
force  at  his  back,  and  Matilda's  soldiery  rushed  in 
confusion  to  the  churches,  which  they  essayed  to 
defend.  The  Bishop  was  not  to  be  denied,  and 
to  avoid  the  long  and  dubious  strife,  and  heavy 
loss  of  life  that  would  attend  the  storming  of  the 
holy  edifices,  he  set  fire  to  them,  and  afterwards 
gave  his  undivided  attention  to  the  castle,  which 
he  reduced  to  extremities,  after  a  leaguer 
of  six  weeks,  but  the  ex-empress  effected  her 
escape. 

With  reference  to  the  military  proclivities  of 
our  bishops,  it  is  due  to  them  to  point  out  that  as 
councillors  and  ambassadors  they  were  naturally 
in  great  request  at  court,  where  their  superior 
education  and  training  enabled  them  to  serve  the 
state  and  crown  to  advantage.  The  nation  was 
continually  at  war,  kings  and  courtiers  were 
warriors,  hence  the  bishops  were  accustomed  to 
both  court  and  camp,  and  vied  with  the  proudest 
baron  in  the  splendour  of  their  apparel,  and  the 
number  of  their  attendant  knights  and  men- 
at-arms. 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  211 

The  following  brief  extract  from  Hallam, 
relating  to  feudal  tenures  in  Anglo-Saxon 
England,  throws  some  little  light  on  the  military 
service  of  some  of  the  bishops  in  pre-conquest 
times,  although,  no  doubt,  many  churchmen 
considered  it  a  holy  war  that  they  waged  against 
the  heathen  Danes  in  defence  of  their  country 
and  religion  : — 

"  All  the  freehold  lands  of  England,  except  some  of  those 
belonging  to  the  Church,  were  subject  to  three  great  public 
burdens  :  military  service  in  the  king's  expeditions,  or  at  least 
in  defensive  war  ;  the  repair  of  bridges,  and  that  of  royal 
fortresses.  These  obligations,  and  especially  the  first,  have 
been  sometimes  thought  to  denote  a  feudal  tenure.  There  is, 
however,  a  confusion  into  which  we  may  fall  by  not  sufficiently 
discriminating  the  rights  of  a  king  as  chief  lord  of  his  vassals, 
and  as  sovereign  of  his  subjects.  In  every  country,  the 
supreme  power  is  entitled  to  use  the  arm  of  each  citizen  in 
the  public  defence.  The  usage  of  all  Nations  agrees  with 
common  reason  in  establishing  this  great  principle.  There  is 
nothing  therefore  peculiarly  feudal  in  this  military  service  of 
landholders ;  it  was  due  from  the  allodial  proprietors  upon  the 
continent,  it  was  derived  from  their  German  ancestors,  it  had 
been  fixed,  probably,  by  the  legislatures  of  the  Heptarchy  upon 
the  first  settlement  in  Britain." 

We  can  easily  imagine  the  Anglo-Saxon  kings 
calling  upon  the  bishops  for  assistance  against  the 
Danes. 

The  Conquest  was  followed  by  the  imposition 


2i2  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

of  the  feudal  system,  binding  the  church  to 
perform  military  service  to  the  crown.  This,  at 
first  regarded  as  a  hardship,  agreed  well  with  the 
warlike  spirit  of  the  times,  and  although  the 
bishops  appointed  their  feudal  advocates  to  fight 
their  battles,  protect  their  interests,  and  lead  their 
vassals  to  the  field,  yet  they  sometimes  took  the 
field  in  person,  and  rode  amid  the  lances  of  the 
men-at-arms.  The  military  advocates  held  their 
lands  of  the  church,  and,  in  court  and  field,  their 
service  was  honourable.  Indeed  the  title  of 
advocates  of  the  church  was  bestowed  upon  Pepin 
and  Charlemagne. 

Thus  the  regulations  of  the  feudal  period 
encouraged  the  military  disposition  of  the  prelates, 
who,  when  the  invaders  burst  in,  readily  raised 
the  cry  to  arms.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
when  Hotspur  and  Douglas  carried  on  their  great 
trial  at  arms  on  Otterburne  field,  by  the  cloud- 
drifted  light  of  the  moon,  the  Bishop  of  Durham 
was  marching  with  10,000  men  to  ensure  the 
defeat  of  the  invaders.  However,  he  arrived  too 
late  ;  the  battle  was  over,  Douglas  slain,  and  the 
two  Percies  prisoners,  and  the  Scots  strongly 
posted  to  resist  attack.  A  second  battle  must 
have  been   sanguinary,   and   the   result   doubtful, 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  213 

therefore  the  bishop  decided  not  to  take  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  of  fighting,  but  withdrew 
his  warriors,  leaving  the  Scots  to  return  unmolested 
to  their  own  country. 

Chief  amono-  the  amateur  soldiers  of  the  church 
in  King  Edward  the  First's  days,  was  the  proud 
and  magnificent  Bishop  of  Durham,  Anthony  de 
Beck,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  and  Lord  of  the 
Isle  of  Man.  At  Falkirk  he  drew  an  unrighteous 
sword  against  Wallace  and  the  Scottish  patriots. 
Previous  to  the  battle  he  celebrated  a  soldier's 
mass  on  the  field,  clothed  in  knightly  mail  as  he 
was,  the  long  kite-shaped  shield  slung  over  his 
shoulder,  the  sword  girt  at  his  thigh.  The 
ceremony  over,  he  was  ready  to  charge  Wallace's 
schiltrons  and  archers,  but  the  first  column 
preceded  him,  led  by  the  Earl  Marshal,  and 
Lincoln,  and  Hereford.  He  saw  man  and  horse 
impaled  on  the  huge  Scottish  -spears,  and  the 
chargfinef  files  rolled  back  in  blood,  while  the 
Scottish  arrows  drifted  into  their  ranks.  He 
appreciated  the  valour  of  the  enemy,  and  proposed 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  numerous  archers,  who 
would  speedily,  and  with  little  loss  to  themselves, 
shoot  down  the  Scottish  schiltrons.  The  men-at- 
arms  were,  however,   eager  to  close,  and  Rudulf 


2i4  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Basset  scornfully  advised  the  Lord  Bishop  to 
stick  to  his  mass,  while  he  led  the  charge.  Thus 
rebuked,  the  bishop  gave  the  word,  leading, 
sword-in-hand,  and  furiously  assailed  the  Scottish 
left,  to  be  hurled  back,  again  and  again.  The 
treacherous  retreat  of  the  Scottish  cavalry  left  the 
schiltrons  exposed  to  certain  destruction,  and 
the  English  archers  shot  them  down  without 
mercy. 

When  Edward  III.  lay  before  Calais,  he  paid 
Thomas  Hatfield,  Bishop  of  Durham,  6s.  8d.  per 
day,  and  his  following  in  proportion,  viz.  : — three 
bannerets  at  4s.,  48  knights  at  2s.,  164  esquires 
at  1 2d.,  81  archers  on  horseback  at  6d.  each  per 
day. 

Perhaps  the  most  notable  of  the  fighting 
bishops  was  Henry  Spencer,  of  Norwich.  When 
the  whole  of  England  lay  in  panic  terror  at  the 
mercy  of  the  revolted  villeins,  when  drawbridges 
were  raised,  gates  closed,  and  knights  and  nobles 
hid  themselves  behind  stone  walls,  Henry  Spencer 
bade  trumpets  sound,  and  sallied  forth  with  his 
men-at-arms,  attacking  the  marching  peasants 
wherever  he  met  them.  Emboldened  by  his 
example,  a  few  gentlemen  associated  themselves 
with    him,    and    he    extended    his    operations    to 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  215 

Cambridge  and  Huntingdon,  which  were  soon 
pacified.  When  John  Littester,  the  dyer,  leader 
of  the  Norfolk  villeins,  despatched  deputies  to  the 
king,  the  alert  bishop  intercepted  them,  and 
incontinently  struck  off  their  heads.  A  body  of 
the  villeins  had  entrenched  themselves  at  North 
Walsham.  Spencer  marched  against  and  stormed 
their  position,  being  the  first  to  enter,  sword-in- 
hand.  A  furious  and  protracted  conflict  followed, 
ending  in  the  defeat  of  the  peasants,  who  were 
pursued  and  cut  to  pieces  with  unsparing  severity. 
Those  spared  of  the  sword  and  lance  Spencer 
strung  up  to  the  nearest  tree,  first  receiving  their 
hurried  confession,  then  granting  them  absolution. 
He  dispersed  the  revolted  peasantry  of  Suffolk, 
and  set  a  marked  example  to  the  nobility. 

During  these  events,  that  man  of  many 
enemies,  John  of  Gaunt,  had  retired  into  Scotland. 
So  obnoxious  was  he  to  the  peasantry,  that  when 
his  wife,  Constance  of  Castille,  sought  refuge  in 
his  Castle  of  Pontefract,  the  cowardly  retainers 
refused  to  admit  her,  and  she  had  to  proceed 
through  a  wild  country,  by  torchlight,  for  night 
had  closed  in,  to  her  lord's  Castle  of  Knares- 
borough,  where  she  found  a  safe  haven  until 
Lancaster's  return. 


2i6  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

The  ambitious  prelate  soon  found  a  wider  field 
for  his  arms. 

When,  in  consequence  of  a  division  among  the 
cardinals,  two  rival  popes  were  elected,  Urban 
VI.  and  Clement  VII.,  Europe  divided  on  the 
question,  and  France  and  England  were  naturally 
in  opposition,  the  former  power  giving  its  adhesion 
to  Clement,  the  latter  to  Urban,  for  England 
feebly  strove  to  retain  some  portion  of  the 
conquests  of  Edward  III.  and  the  Black  Prince. 
Clement,  defeated,  found  refuge  at  Avignon,  and, 
obedient  to  his  protector,  preached  a  crusade 
against    Richard    II.    and    the     English.      Urban 

fc>  o 

excommunicated  Clement  as  an  anti-pope,  and 
commissioned  Bishop  Spencer  to  conduct  a 
crusade  against  him.  The  bishop  found  numerous 
enthusiastic  supporters,  and  parliament  met  to 
consider  whether  they  should  ally  themselves  with 
the  Flemings,  or  co-operate  with  Lancaster,  from 
Spain,  against  the  national  enemy.  The  former 
scheme  was  adopted,  but  the  French  overran 
Flanders,  and  beleagured  Ghent,  the  only  town 
that  held  out  against  them.  Immediate  and 
energetic  action  was  demanded,  and  the  council 
resolved  to  support  the  bishop,  who  proposed  to 
drive  the  French  out  of  Flanders,  and  then  carry 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  217 

the  war  into  their  own  country.      For  this  purpose 
certain  subsidies  were  be  paid  to  him. 

The  bishop,  however,  altered  his  mind,  and 
proposed,  in  return  for  the  fifteenth  granted  by 
the  laity,  to  serve  one  year  with  2,500  men-at-arms 
and  2,500  mounted  archers.  His  offer  being 
accepted,  William  de  Beaucham  was  appointed  his 
lieutenant,  and  in  the  month  of  May,  1383,  he 
carried  a  body  of  troops,  and  numerous  volunteers, 
to  Calais,  where  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  his 
lieutenant  with  the  remainder  of  the  forces. 
These  were  delayed,  it  was  alleged  by  the  design 
of  John  of  Gaunt,  and  the  bishop  had  no 
alternative  but  to  employ  his  headstrong  and 
impatient  crusaders.  Gravelines  was  assaulted, 
and  carried. 

Dunkirk  immediately  surrendered,  but  the 
Count  of  Flanders,  engaged  in  the  interests  of 
France,  marched  against  the  crusaders.  Sir  Hugh 
de  Calverley  had  reinforced  the  bishop,  and  a 
battle  ensued,  resulting  in  the  defeat  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  surrender  of  Cassel,  Dixmuyde,  Bourburg, 
Newport,  and  Popperen. 

The  King  of  France  hastily  took  the  field  with 
100,000  men,  for  the  position  appeared  alarming. 
Norwich   had  also   received   succours,   forwarded 


218  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

by  that  gallant  merchant,  Sir  John  Philpot,  but 
the  new  crusaders  were  rogues  and  miscreants  of 
the  darkest  stain,  and  were  influenced  by  the 
prospect  of  unbounded  licence  and  plunder.  In 
his  vexation,  Spencer  requested  Philpot  to  suspend 
his  supply  of  naked  ruffians,  but  he  had  to  put  a 
bold  face  on,  and  match  his  90,000  soldiers, 
crusaders,  and  thieves,  against  the  army  of  France. 
There  was,  however,  a  difference  of  opinion, 
amounting  to  a  mutiny  in  the  army,  and  the 
mortified  bishop  found  himself  constrained  to 
besiege  Ypres.  Several  furious  assaults  were 
delivered,  but  the  steady  courage  of  the  veteran 
garrison,  posted  behind  strong  defences,  foiled  the 
fury  of  the  ill-conducted  attacks,  and  the 
depression  of  defeat  rested  upon  the  army,  which 
avenged  itself  by  casting  off  all  restraint,  and 
spreading  over  the  country  for  the  purpose  of 
plunder,  while  the  pilgrims  deserted  in  large 
numbers.  The  French  army  approached,  and  the 
bishop  beat  a  hasty  retreat  to  Dunkirk,  leaving 
his  materials  of  war  behind.  Bourburg  was 
occupied  by  Sir  Hugh  de  Calverley  and  Sir 
Thomas  Trivet,  and  the  King  of  France  closed 
them  in,  threatening  to  put  every  man  to  the 
sword  if  the  place  was  not  immediately  surrendered. 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  219 

The  threat  was  vain,  and  twice  the  French  fell 
on,  to  be  bloodily  repulsed,  when  King  Charles 
tendered  the  garrison  quarter,  and  they  marched 
out  and  proceeded  *to  Calais.  From  Bourburg 
the  King  carried  his  army  to  Gravelines,  where 
he  found  every  prospect  of  a  tough  struggle,  and 
wisely  concluded  to  treat  rather  than  fight.  The 
bishop  took  time  to  consider  the  terms  proposed, 
and  sent  messages  to  Kino;  Richard  for  succours  ; 
but  before  troops  could  be  collected  and 
embarked,  the  truce  expired,  and,  agreeable  to  his 
undertaking,  the  bishop  dismantled  Gravelines, 
marched  the  remains  of  his  forces  to  Calais,  and 
embarked  for  England. 

In  Parliament  he  met  with  a  warm  reception 
for  having  failed  to  carry  out  his  engagements, 
and  although  his  defence  entitled  him  to  an 
honourable  acquittal,  he  was  found  in  default  for 
not  having  served  out  his  full  time,  and  for  the 
insubordination  of  his  troops.  He  was  mulcted 
in  a  severe  pecuniary  penalty,  and  the  temporalities 
of  his  Bishopric  were  seized.  Several  of  the 
knights,  whose  insubordination  had  tended  to  pro- 
duce the  miscarriage  of  the  expedition,  as  Thomas 
Trivet,  Henry  Ferners,  William  Ellingham,  and 
William  Harrendon,  were  fined  and  imprisoned. 


22o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

So  ended  the  bishop's  campaign,  in  which, 
however,  he  manifested  the  spirit  and  capacity  of  a 
good  captain,  but  success  was,  with  such  a  soldiery 
and  so  powerful  an  enemy,  absolutely  impossible. 

Pope  Martin  V.  was  one  of  the  most  determined 
opponents  of  the  Hussites,  and  spared  no  pains 
in  inciting  Europe  to  move  in  a  crusade  against 
those  stubborn  heretics,  whose  extermination 
was    most   ardently    desired. 

a.d.  1426,  a  crusading  army  was  utterly  defeated, 
with  a  loss  of  not  less  than  15,000  men,  before 
the  walls  of  Aussig.  The  crusaders  mustered  not 
less  than  70,000  trained  soldiers,  supported  by 
180  pieces  of  artillery,  with  3,000  wagons  for 
transport  of  stores.  Quarter  was  neither  given 
nor  accepted,  and  the  defeated  and  demoralised 
army  was  closely  pursued.  This  memorable 
battle  was  fought  on  the  forenoon  of  Sunday,  the 
1 6th  of  June. 

"Then  fourteen  counts  and  lords  of  might 
Did  from  their  coursers  all  alight, 
Their  sword-points  deep  in  earth  did  place 
And  to  the  Czechians  sued  for  grace. 
For  prayers  and  cries  they  cared  not  aught, 
Silver  and  gold  they  set  at  naught, 
E'en  as  themselves  had  made  reply, 
So  every  man  they  did  to  die." 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  221 

It  was  the  inhumanity,  or  bigotry,  of  the  Germans 
that  settled  the  question  of  quarter,  raised  by  the 
Hussites  before  the  battle,  and  afterwards  main- 
tained with  unsparing  severity. 

The  Germans  having  failed,  the  Pope  turned 
to  the  English,  then  winning  bloody  laurels  in 
France.  Henry      de      Beaufort,      Bishop      of 

Winchester,  John  of  Gaunt's  son,  and  Henry 
IV.'s  brother,  was  selected  for  the  enterprise. 
On  receiving  the  Pope's  bull,  he  prepared  to  raise 
soldiers  and  money  for  the  crusade.  The 
preaching  of  the  crusade  in  England  met  with 
little  or  no  response.  Ready  as  the  islanders 
were  to  exchange  the  rude  courtesies  of  warfare 
with  their  Scottish  neighbours,  to  cross  the 
Channel  to  destroy  the  armies  and  ravage  the 
vineyards  and  cornfields  of  France,  and,  earlier, 
to  take  the  crusaders'  cross  and  embark  for 
Palestine,  it  may  be  questioned  if  they  had  ever  a 
genuine  disposition  for  fighting  the  battles  of  the 
popes.  Indeed  the  friction  was  rough  and 
frequent  between  Rome  and  Britain. 

In  the  city  of  Mechlin,  Beaufort  published  the 
papal  bull.  It  was  instantly  and  enthusiastically 
responded  to.  A  somewhat  mixed  army  was 
assembled.     The  figures  of  the  historians,  90,000 


222  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

foot  and  90,000  horse,  are  not  easily  acceptable, 
but  doubtless  the  army  was  a  considerable  one. 

Numerous  nobles  and  knights,  including  three 
electors  of  the  empire,  marched  with  and  assisted 
Beaufort,  and  strengthened  the  army  with  their 
retainers.  Perhaps  the  army  lacked  cohesion  ; 
no  doubt  its  bravest  soldiers  admitted  the  terrible 
might  and  energy  of  the  foe.  Probably  those 
who  were  not  accustomed  to  arms — townsfolk, 
artisans,  shepherds,  and  peasants — would  be 
easily  influenced  by  doubt  and  fear  when  they 
found  themselves  opposed  to  an  enemy  whose 
reputation  for  valour  and  severity  was  so  terrible. 

Winchester  had  been  created  a  cardinal,  and 
the  Pope's  legate-a-latere,  but  he  was  fated  to 
attain  no  honour  by  arms. 

Again  invaded  by  a  cruel  and  presumptuous 
enemy,  both  Catholics  and  Hussites  united  to 
defend  Bohemia. 

In  the  June  of  1427,  the  crusaders  crossed  the 
borders,  and  encamped  before  Meiss.  Although 
greatly  inferior  in  numbers,  the  Bohemians 
advanced  and  offered  battle.  The  martial 
appearance  of  these  iron  veterans,  the  knowledge 
of  their  dreadful  reputation,  curiously  effected  the 
crusaders.      Instead   of  pushing   on   to   cross   the 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  223 

river  and  open  the  attack,  they  stood  at  gaze. 
Awed  and  daunted  by  the  ominous  spectacle 
before  them,  their  ranks  shook  with  a  sudden 
panic,  weapons  clashed  wildly,  standards  went 
down.  Horse  and  foot  were  inextricably  mixed 
as  the  first  of  the  panic-stricken  wretches  broke 
and  fled.  A  dreadful  scene  followed.  Almost  in 
a  moment  the  huge  army  was  transformed  into  a 
confused  rout  of  fugitives.  As  quickly  were  the 
waters  of  the  Meiss  darkened  by  the  iron  ranks 
of  the  Hussites  as  they  pressed  forward,  to  fall 
upon  the  panic-stricken  crusaders  with  axe  and 
iron-flail,  sword  and  spear,  while  bullets  and 
arrows  were  poured  incessantly  into  the  flying 
masses,  and  the  fugitives  fell  as  thick  and  fast  as 
sere  leaves  in  an  autumnal  gale. 

The  crusading  army  had  committed  many 
outrages  during  the  course  of  its  triumphant 
march,  and  as  the  guilty  and  licentious  wretches, 
losing  all  order  and  cohesion,  rushed  madly 
before  the  flashing  steel  of  the  pursuers,  the 
peasantry  rose  against  them  on  every  side, 
pitiless  avengers,  whose  wrath  could  be  alone 
satiated  by  blood.  The  whole  of  Bohemia  was 
enriched  by  the  enormous  spoil  of  the  vanquished. 

The   Pope,  in  condoling  with   Beaufort,  spoke 


224  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

hopefully  of  the  success  of  a  new  crusade,  but  the 
Englishman  was  satisfied  with  the  extent,  if  not 
the  character,  of  his  experience. 

Richard  Scrope  had  a  brief  and  most  un- 
fortunate experience  of  military  operations.  His 
appearance  in  arms  was  purely  the  result  of  the 
complications  that  followed  the  deposition  of 
Richard  II.  and  the  enthronement  of  Bolingbroke. 
Lord  Scrope,  High  Chancellor  of  England,  had 
devotedly  served  Edward  III.  and  his  grandson, 
Richard  of  Bordeaux,  and  after  that  dark  tragedy 
at  Pontefract,  that  secured,  for  the  time  being,  the 
throne  of  Lancaster,  he  endowed  a  chantry  in  his 
castle  of  Bolton,  where  daily  service  was  performed 
for  the  repose  of  the  dead  king's  soul.  The  old 
man  was  spared,  but  the  king's  hand  fell  heavily 
upon  his  sons.  First  to  fall  was  the  Earl  of 
Wiltshire,  who  was  captured  in  Bristol  Castle, 
and  dragged  to  the  block  with  indecent  haste,  and 
on  no  sufficient  cause,  by  Bolingbroke's  command. 
This  alone  might  have  pre-disposed  the  Arch- 
bishop to  ally  himself  with  the  King's  enemies, 
when  many  of  the  nobles  repented  that  they  had 
set  up  the  son  of  John  of  Gaunt  in  the  place  of 
the  son  of  the  heroic  Black  Prince.  The  avenging 
of    his    brother's    blood    could    scarcely    fail    to 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  225 

influence  the  Archbishop,  but  no  doubt  he  was 
wrought  upon  by  the  King's  enemies,  and  felt 
called  upon,  if  not  to  avenge  the  slaying  of  the 
King,  at  least  to  endeavour  to  correct  his  govern- 
ment, and  arrest  the  shedding  of  blood  which  so 
deeply  stained  the  early  years  of  Henry's  reign. 

The  princely  power  of  the  Archbishops  in 
Northumbria,  and  the  personal  esteem  in  which 
Scrope  was  held,  made  his  appearance  in  arms 
peculiarly  dangerous  to  the  King.  Lord 
Mowbray  associated  himself  with  Scrope,  and  no 
sooner  was  the  standard  of  revolt  uplifted  than 
the  hardy  Yorkshiremen  flocked  to  support  their 
Archbishop.  Scrope  published  a  terrible  and 
undeniable  indictment  against  the  blood-stained 
Henry.  He  was  accused  of  treason,  usurpation, 
regicide,  the  withholding  of  the  crown  from  the 
Earl  of  March,  the  lineal  heir,  with  other 
charges  not  to  be  refuted. 

Ralph,  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  and  Prince  John, 

were  despatched  against   Scrope  and   Mowbray, 

but  they  found  the  northern  army  so  formidable 

that  they  dared  not  strike.     On  approaching  the 

Archbishop  they  found   him  ready  to  enter  into 

negotiations    for    the    correcting   of    the     King's 

government,  and  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  with 

15 


226  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

a  treachery  that  was  infamous  at  a  time  when 
treachery  and  perjury  were  common,  pretended 
to  grant  all  Scrope's  demands,  and,  as  a 
ratification  of  the  terms  of  pacification,  proposed 
the  disbanding  of  the  two  armies.  This  was 
unsuspiciously  acceded  to,  and  the  northern  army 
was  immediately  disbanded,  although  the  royal 
army  maintained  its  formation.  Danger  of  rescue 
past,  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  with  infamous 
treachery,  arrested  Scrope,  Mowbray,  and  several 
of  their  captains.  "The  King  was  then  at 
Pontefract,  and  when  the  Archbishop  and  the 
other  captives  were  brought  thither  to  him,  they 
were  ordered  to  be  carried  from  thence  to  York, 
where  they  were  condemned  to  death  by  the 
judges,  Fulford  and  Gascoign.  Judgment  was 
no  sooner  passed,  but  the  Archbishop  was  set 
upon  a  lean  deformed  horse,  with  his  face 
backward ;  and  that  Bishop,  whose  grave  age 
commanded  every  man's  respect,  having  been 
always  accompanied  with  holiness  of  life, 
incomparable  learning,  and  a  lovely  person, 
was  now  loaded  with  all  sorts  of  disgrace  and 
reproaches,  and  so  conducted  to  the  place  of 
execution,  where  his  head  was  cut  off,  June  8th, 
1405,  by  an  unskilful   executioner,  who  scarcely 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  227 

effected  it  at  five  strokes.  He  was  buried  on  the 
eastern  part  of  the  new  works,  where  certain 
miracles  were  said  to  have  been  done  by  the  merits 
of  this  martyr,  and  the  King  to  be  smitten  with  an 
incurable  leprosy.  It  is  certain  he  was  the  first 
archbishop  that  was  condemned  to  death  by  a 
legal  trial.  The  Pope  excommunicated  the 
authors  of  this  archbishop's  death,  but  was  easily 
intreated  to  absolve  them  a  little  time  after."  To 
augment  the  bitterness  of  death,  Scrope  was 
removed  to  his  palace  of  Bishopthorpe  for 
execution,  and  his  head  was  piked  and  exposed 
on  the  walls  of  York. 

Mowbray,  Sir  Robert  Plumpton,  Sir  John 
Lamplugh,  and  other  unfortunates,  also  suffered 
decollation. 

During  the  great  rebellion  that  cost  Charles 
Stuart  his  crown  and  head,  another  Archbishop 
of  York  took  up  arms,  to  figure  obscurely  during 
a  struggle  in  which  he  certainly  was  not  called 
upon  to  assume  the  soldier's  painful  and  difficult 
part.  A  changeful  and  troublous  history  is  that 
of  John  Williams.  In  162 1  he  was  elevated  to 
the  Bishopric  of  Lincoln,  and  Lord  Keeper  of  the 
Great  Seal,  but  his  fortunes  waned  as  Laud  rose 
to  power  ;  he  lost  the  Seals,  and  at  the  coronation 


228  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

of  Charles  I.  it  was  his  duty,  as  Dean  of  West- 
minster, to  read  divine  service,  but  Laud  took 
his  place.  He  was  further  affronted  by  being 
forbidden  to  sit  in  the  House,  and  Laud  brought 
him  into  the  Star  Chamber  for  having  written 
the  "  Holy  Table."  He  was  suspended,  fined 
;£  10,000,  and  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  during 
the  King's  pleasure.  He  obtained  his  release 
November   16th,    1640. 

Not  unnaturally  his  suffering  made  him  an 
object  of  interest  to  the  Puritan  party,  but  he  was 
loyal  to  Charles,  and  by  preaching  before  him  in 
condemnation  of  the  discipline  of  Geneva 
he  won  the  royal  favour,  and  he  was  raised 
to  the  Archbishopric  of  York.  The  evil  times 
had  closed  in,  and  for  leading  the  bishops 
in  their  protest  against  the  House  of  Lords, 
he  was  committed  to  the  Tower,  where 
he  remained  some  time.  Then  came  the 
war. 

When  Captain  Hotham  and  Sir  Thomas 
Fairfax  were  earning  their  spurs  by  the  most 
daring  exploits  against  the  Royalists  of  Yorkshire, 
Hotham  received  some  cause  for  offence  from  the 
Archbishop,  and  irefully  vowed  to  cut  off  his. 
head. 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  229 

A  friendly  warning  of  the  threat  reached  the 
Archbishop  late  on  the  3rd  of  October,  and, 
appreciating  the  spirit  of  the  young  dare-devil,  the 
prelate  left  Cawood  Castle  in  hot  haste.  Not 
long  after,  Hotham  and  his  fiery  riders  spurred  up 
in  hot  haste,  and  finding  their  intended  victim  had 
escaped,  they  solaced  themselves  by  sacking  the 
castle. 

Joining  the  king  at  Oxford,  Williams 
received  the  royal  commission  and  instructions,  and 
proceeded  to  fortify  his  castle  at  Aberconway,  but, 
apparently  from  some  unworthy  suspicion  of  his 
loyalty,  the  king  appointed  another  commandant  to 
the  castle,  and  Williams,  in  deep  disgust,  retired 
to  his  house  at  Penryn,  placed  it  in  a  state  of 
defence,  and  gave  in  his  adhesion  to 
parliament. 

Assisted  by  Colonel  Mitton,  he  besieged  Aberga- 
venny, in  South  Wales,  and  reduced  the  strong- 
hold to  the  obedience  of  parliament.  He  expired 
at  Lady  Mostyn's  house  at  Gloded,  on  the  25th 
of  March,  1650,  being  the  68th  anniversary  of  his 
birth. 

Thus  an  old  Yorkshire  history  :  ."  While  he  was 
in  his  greatness,  he  was  characterized  a  person  of 
a    generous    mind,     a    lover    and    encourager  of 


23o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS 

learning  and  learned  men  (being  himself  very 
learned),  hospitable  and  a  great  benefactor  to  the 
public  ;  but  when,  through  anger  and  disgust,  he 
sided  with  the  parliament  and  Puritans,  he  was 
styled  by  the  Royalists  a  perfidious  prelate,  the 
shame  of  the  clergy,  and  the  apostate  archbishop, 
which  how  much  he  deserved,  considering  his 
provocations,  let  the  reader  judge.  He  hath 
many  things  in  print,  etc."  Lord  Campbell  adds 
this  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this  unfortunate 
prelate,  for  truly  unfortunate  he  must  be  esteemed, 
"  He  will  always  be  memorable  in  English 
history,  as  the  last  of  a  long  line  of  eminent 
ecclesiastics,  who,  with  rare  intervals,  held  for 
many  centuries  the  highest  judicial  office  in  the 
kingdom,  and  exercised  a  powerful  influence  over 
the  destinies  of  the  nation." 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  romantic  and  interesting 
facts  relating  to  the  military  experience  of  English 
bishops,  which  are  scattered  through  the  pages  of 
our  national  history.  In  some  cases  we  cannot 
blame,  in  others  we  must  actually  applaud,  our 
fighting  bishops  for  patriotism,  courage,  and 
conduct  of  no  common  order  ;  and  where  we  may 
be  disposed  to  censure,  we  may  justly  pause,  and 
weigh  the  character  of  the  times,   the  usages  of 


BISHOPS  IN  BATTLE.  231 

the  church,  and  admit  that  in  their  day  and 
generation,  they  were  not  acting  so  opposite  to 
their  character  and  profession  as  we  may  be 
disposed  to  regard  them,  if  we  do  so  from  the 
higher  spiritual  conditions  of  our  own  more 
favoured  and  settled  times. 


Gbe  Cloister  anfc>  its  £tor£. 

By  S.  W.  Kershaw,  f.s.a. 


"  The  treasures  of  antiquity  laid  up 
In  old  historic  rolls  I  opened." 

— Beaumont. 

FAIR  and  famed  are  the  monastic  ruins  of 
our  land,  from  Fountains  and  Rievaulx 
among  the  Yorkshire  dales,  to  Tintern  on  the 
silvery  Wye,  and  Netley  near  the  placid  Solent,  one 
and  all  alike  tell  a  tale  of  their  past  annals,  making 
up,  verily,  a  treasured  page  of  "  Bygone  England." 

With  these  buildings  are  closely  connected 
one  of  their  great  agencies,  when,  as  dispensers  of 
learning,  in  the  early  ages,  darkness  and 
ignorance  was  all  around.  Just  as  the  legendary 
dictum  arose,  that  the  exquisite  lantern  of  Ely 
Cathedral  became  a  guiding  light  to  the  traveller, 
in  the  fens  and  morasses  of  Eastern  England,  so 
these  religious  homes  were  the  beacon  spots  of 
learning. 

In  that  remote  period  of  way-faring,  it  was  the 
custom  for  some  churches  to  have  a  fire  lighted  in 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  233 

an  iron  framework  on  the  top  of  an  angle  turret, 
to  direct  the  steps  of  the  stranger,  especially- 
through  those  vast  woods  which  covered  our  land, 
and  of  which  a  famous  example  existed  in  the 
forest  of  Galtres,  in  Yorkshire. 

The  visitor  to  Gloucester  Cathedral  will  have 
noticed  its  exquisite  cloisters,  and  have  seen  the 
screens  or  "  carols  "  where  the  monkish  scribe  sat 
diligently  to  copy  his  chronicle,  or  the  artist  to 
illuminate  its  page. 

The  examples  at  Gloucester  are  almost  unique 
as  an  illustration,  so  to  speak,  of  the  workshops 
of  the  mediaeval  copyist;  but  a  "scriptorium,''  or 
room,  was  arranged  in  most  monastic  houses,  as 
the  more  general  place  of  labour. 

As  the  chief  homes  and  nurseries  of  religion, 
these  houses  attracted  their  different  leaders  and 
schools  of  learning.  With  Bede  in  Northumbria, 
and  Augustine  in  Kent,  two  great  missionary 
scholars,  the  memories  of  ancient  lore  seem  to  be 
recalled.  In  quick  succession  arose  the  vast 
abbeys  of  our  land,  at  St.  Albans,  Glastonbury, 
York,  Canterbury,  Lindisfarne,  and  Hexham, 
spreading  their  influence  far  and  wide,  with  a 
host  of  lesser  foundations.  Their  erection,  often 
due  to  the  zeal  of  some  noted  ecclesiastic  or  pious 


234  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

layman,  is  closely  connected  with  our  church 
history  and  customs,  revealing  many  a  vivid 
picture  of  olden  days.  Their  abbots  and  priors 
can  show  many  illustrious  names,  and  Matthew 
Paris,  Aldhelm,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  St.  Cuth- 
bert,  and  William  of  Malmesbury,  are  but  a  tithe 
of  the  roll-call  of  writers  and  chroniclers. 

It  is,  however,  the  work  which  remains  to  this 
day  as  the  evidence  and  link  of  an  almost  for- 
gotten agency,  through  the  preservation  of  our 
early  documents,  that  the  moving  history  of  those 
times  is  recalled.  The  "scriptorium"  under  the 
abbot's  direction,  with  specially  trained  scribes, 
was  the  great  literary  workroom,  rules  and 
admonitions  were  hung  on  its  walls,  expressive  of 
the  care  to  be  taken  in  copying,  the  work  was 
portioned  out,  and  no  monk  could  exchange  his 
allotted  task  for  another. 

There  were  those  specially  selected,  to  insert 
the  rubricated  letters  and  designs  of  the  border 
page,  while  others  prepared  the  vellum,  or 
attended  to  the  binding-.  In  the  larger  mona- 
steries,  especially  of  the  Cistercians,  there 
were  smaller  "  scriptoria"  for  the  more  learned  of 
the  community,  distinguished  also  by  their  skill 
and  attainments. 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  235 

The  transcription  of  Missal  or  Service  books 
was  often  made,  not  only  for  the  great  houses,  but 
for  the  smaller  ones,  unable  to  maintain  so 
large  a  staff,  and  then  both  "scriptorium"  and 
cloister  became  a  ceaseless  centre  of  labour.  Books 
were  often  lent  from  one  monastery  to  another  to 
be  copied,  and  besides  the  actual  staff,  hired 
writers  were  also  employed,  thus  rapidly  developing 
the  learning  of  those  early  times.  Special  grants 
of  money  were  made  to  support  this  constant 
occupation — tithes  and  other  aids  procured  the 
vellum,  the  ink,  and  the  colours  for  the  artist  ; 
thus,  by  degrees,  came  into  existence  those  grand 
volumes  which,  despite  time  and  decay,  have 
survived  to  our  day.  The  abbey  chronicle  and 
the  abbot's  letters  became  one  great  monastic 
diary,  each  containing  a  record  of  events  and 
customs  which  shadowed  forth  many  a  noted 
incident  or  rare  tradition. 

In  the  Christ  Church  letters,  at  Canterbury,  we 
hear  of  Prior  Chillenden's  love  of  building,  and 
mention  of  the  grey  old  walls  of  that  city,  portions 
of  which  are  now  standing,  is  found  in  this 
correspondence. 

Truly  can  it  be  said,  that  the  abbey  and  its 
literature  grew   together,    that  the  annals   of  the 


236  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

one  were  the  foundation  stones  of  the  other.  The 
"  Chronicle,"  perhaps  the  most  typical  form  of 
monastic  work,  gave  expression  to  endless  literary- 
fragments,  some,  undoubted  forgeries,  as  one 
scribe  often  copied  the  errors  of  a  preceding 
writer.  The  lives  of  saints,  and  their  legends, 
were  lightly  interwoven  in  this  day-book  of  the 
religious  house,  and  the  famous  miracles  of 
Thomas  a  Becket,  repeated  in  all  their  varying 
allurements,  formed  the  staple  theme  for  many  a 
credulous  monk. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  "Chronicle"  recorded 
important  events,  especially  the  building  of  a 
noted  minster,  oratory,  or  shrine.  Ingulphus 
treated  of  Croyland  ;  William  of  Malmesbury,  of 
Glastonbury  ;  Gervase,  the  burning  of  Canterbury, 
and  many  like  instances.  In  these  volumes  we 
often  find  allusions  to  the  means  used  to  raise 
money  for  building,  and  the  curious  customs 
arising  out  of  this  effort.  When  a  cathedral 
wanted  repair,  the  bishop  selected  from  among 
his  clergy  a  few  preachers,  and  along  with  them  a 
saint's  shrine,  in  which  relics  were  enclosed  and 
carried  by  young  clerks  in  procession.  On 
reaching:  a  town,  these  relics  were  taken  to  the 
church   and   left  on   one  of  the  altars,   and  those 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  237 

who    could    afford,  threw    their    offerings   on   the 
same. 

Processions  to  some  noted  spot  formed  another 
source  of  revenue,  and  the  picturesque  though 
fanciful  custom  of  strewing  the  churchyard  cross 
with  boughs  on  Palm  Sunday,  may  have  been 
another  of  the  quaint  usages  to  attract  the  devotee 
to  make  his  offerings. 

Fairs,  too,  were  held,  sometimes  in  the  very 
cathedral  precincts,  and  mystery  and  miracle  plays 
also  combined  to  increase  the  funds  required  for  a 
grand  fabric,  or  village  church.  A  leading  feature 
in  the  archivist's  work  were  the  bishop's  registers, 
to  be  found  in  every  diocese,  and  varying  greatly 
in  their  interest  and  contents.  Those  of  Canter- 
bury and  York  form  a  unique  collection  of  church 
history,  while  others  are  models  of  exactness  or 
statesmanlike  precision. 

As  we  turn  over  their  pages,  we  recall  the 
names  of  William  of  Wykeham  (Bishop  of 
Winchester),  Bishop  Alcock  (Ely),  Chichele,  the 
munificent  founder  of  All  Souls',  Oxford,  while 
among  lesser  dignitaries  may  be  classed  Abbot 
I  slip,  of  Westminster,  and  John  of  Whethampstead, 
for  St.  Alban's,  whose  registers  and  minute  books 
betoken   their  care  and   knowledge,    as    "  Super- 


23S  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

visors  "  of  the  noble  buildings  under  their  charge. 
Perhaps  the  register  of  St.  Osmund,  Bishop  of 
Salisbury  (1078-1107),  may  fairly  be  taken  to 
represent  the  idea  of  what  is  usually  found  to 
illustrate  the  growth,  maintenance,  and  customs 
connected  with  those  stately  fabrics  and  minsters 
of  our  land.  As  St.  Osmund  was  one  of  the 
prelate-architects,  so  to  speak,  and  having  much  to 
do  with  the  building  of  that  cathedral,  there  are, 
naturally,  endless  allusions  to  antiquarian  lore, 
indeed,  his  register  can  well  be  likened  to  a 
storehouse  of  local  customs,  and  ecclesiological 
learning. 

On  one  page  is  an  account  of  the  maintenance 
of  Savernake  forest,  over  which  the  Dean  and 
chapter  of  Sarum  had  certain  rights.  On  another, 
we  find  a  description  of  the  stones  and  ornaments 
for  the  church,  while  elsewhere  are  the  charters 
for  the  bestowal  of  land,  towards  the  endowment 
of  canonries  and  other  preferments,  and  to  these 
last  were  attached  seals  of  deep  historical  value. 

This  register  may  be  taken  then  as  the  key- 
stone to  the  annals  of  Sarum  diocese,  and  what 
the  keen  inquirer  finds  in  this  as  a  typical  book, 
may  equally  be  said  of  several  other  episcopal 
archives.        In    their     silent,     though     not     less 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  239 

expressive,  language,  they  have  handed  down 
those  incidents  on  which  hang  the  story  of  many 
an  effort  to  build  a  costly  shrine,  a  sculptured 
porch,  or  greater  still,  the  minsters  and  abbeys 
which  have  made  England  of  the  past  so  rich  an 
inheritance  for  us  of  to-day. 

The  fullest  scope  for  the  mediaeval  artist  was 
found  in  the  pictured  chronicle,  or  the  illuminated 
missal,  that  task  on  which  painter  and  scribe 
devoted  their  best  talents,  and  with  this  embellish- 
ment is  interwoven  many  an  old  usage  or  fanciful 
legend. 

The  monastery  garden  supplied  endless  designs 
for  the  exquisite  plant-forms  and  scrolls  which 
mingled  so  gracefully  with  the  written  text  or  the 
printed  page.  In  the  gifted  words  of  the  late 
Lady  Eastlake,  who  said,  "  Here  on  these  solid 
and  well-nigh  indestructible  parchment  folios, 
where  text  and  picture  alternately  take  up  the 
sacred  tale — the  text  itself  a  picture,  the  picture  a 
homily — the  skill  of  the  artist  has  exhausted 
itself  in  setting  forth  the  great  scheme  of 
salvation."  * 

Flowers  also  supplied  an   un-ending  theme  for 

*  "History  of  Our  Lord,"  by  the  late  Mrs.  Jameson,  continued  by 
Lady  Eastlake. 


24o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

symbolism  which  always  allied  itself  to  sacred  and 
legendary  art,  and  tradition  asserts  that  the  monks 
reared  an  appropriate  flower  for  each  holy-day, 
and  that  certain  flowers  were  dedicated  to  saints. 
The  ivy  a  type  of  immortality,  the  oak  of  virtue 
and  majesty,  the  lily,  and  the  rose,  all  had  their 
significance  on  the  vellum  book. 

o 

Mingled  with  the  border  designs  were  satirical 
allusions  in  the  form  of  grotesques  and  other 
drolleries,  evidently  aimed  at  the  jealousies 
of  the  secular  and  regular  clergy,  one  against  the 
other,  or  both  against  the  mendicant  friars. 
What  was  found  on  the  illuminated  page,  was 
echoed  in  the  architectural  carvings  of  the  time, 
and  the  fantastic  wood  work  in  some  of  our 
cathedrals  and  many  churches,  especially  in  the 
stalls  .of  Christ  Church,  Hants,  repeat  the  teach- 
ings of  the  caustic  monk  in  his  cloistered  seclusion. 

It  was  reserved  for  the  architect-artist  to 
perpetuate  in  stone  the  beauties  of  the  floral 
world,  and  nothing  speaks  a  stronger  though 
mute  language  than  the  foliage  sculptured  on  the 
arches,  doorways,  and  nooks  of  our  minsters, 
churches,  and  abbey  ruins. 

"  Ivy,  and  vine,  and  many  a  sculptured  rose, 
The  tenderest  image  of  mortality, 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  241 

"  Binding  the  slender  columns,  whose  light  shafts 
Cluster  like  stems  in  corn-sheaves." 

Not  only  was  symbolism  embodied  in  these 
carvings,  but  as  an  exercise  and  offering  of 
devotion  to  the  Unseen,  the  best  efforts  were 
lavished  on  it  by  the  skilled  master-workmen  of 
the  time. 

Thus  the  scribe,  the  illuminator,  the  architect 
were  all  striving  in  a  kind  of  companion  rivalry, 
each  illustrating  by  his  efforts  some  phase  of 
artistic  labour,  or  reviving  a  long-forgotten  custom. 

However  much  we  may  dissociate  legend  with 
truth,  we  cannot  always  ignore  it,  mingled  though 
it  may  be  with  monkish  ignorance  and  superstition. 

The  tale  of  many  a  noble  structure  has  been 

veiled   under  the  guise   of  the   chronicle   or   the 

monastic    ledger    book,    and     the    foundation    of 

Waltham  Abbey  is  said  to  have  originated  from  a 

1 2th  century  MS.,  entitled,  "De  inventione  Sancte 

Crucis."      Around  the  grand  church  of  Minister 

in     Thanet,    gathers    a    pretty     story,     in     that 

Dompneva,  wife  of  Penda,  King  of  Mercia,  asked 

Ethelbert  to  grant  her  land  in  Thanet,  on  which 

she  might  build  a  monastery.      In  answer  to  how 

much  she  required,  "  Only  as  much   as  my  deer 

can  run  over  at  one  course."     The  King  gave  her 

16 


242  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

the  wide  tract  of  land  run  over  by  the  deer,  and 
she  founded  the  cloister  on  the  spot  where  now 
stands  Minister  church.  Local  names  have  some- 
times been  associated  with  the  story  of  the  cloister. 
The  Bell-rock  with  its  lighthouse  was  so  called 
from  the  bell  which  the  monks  tolled,  to  warn  the 
mariner  of  his  danger. 

The  smallest  item  on  the  parchment  page  can 
have  an  extended  meaning  ;  the  sign  of  the  cross 
was  found  in  many  old  deeds,  which  often  con- 
tained an  invocation  to  the  Trinity,  and  the  famous 
story  of  St.  Helena,  and  the  finding  of  the  cross, 
has  its  incidents  oft  repeated  in  the  MS.,  the 
printed  book,  the  panel  or  fresco  painting,  as  well 
as  in  the  marvellous  pieces  of  the  sacred  wood, 
so  greatly  venerated  by  the  faithful !  Of  St. 
Dunstan,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  there  is  a 
drawing,  said  to  be  by  his  own  hand,  in  the  illumi- 
nation of  a  manuscript  in  the  Bodleian  Library, 
and  of  dedication  of  churches  to  saints,  the  name 
is  legion.  St.  Barnabas  Day  is  specially  linked 
with  English  life  and  manners,  it  was  the  longest 
day  according  to  the  old  style,  and  the  old  rhyme, 

"  Barnaby  bright,  Barnaby  light, 
The  longest  day  and  the  shortest  night." 

Every  form   of  chronicled  lore,  be   it   register, 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  243 

fabric  roll,  charter,  or  brief,  teems  with  some 
peculiar  custom  which  is  a  moving  history,  an 
heirloom  from  the  old  world,  helping  to  connect 
the  past  and  the  present. 

Architectural  items  enter  largely  into  the  varied 
forms  of  church  documents;  the  Indulgence  often 
gave  full  particulars  as  to  the  repairs  of  a  building, 
a  fact  most  valuable  for  supplying  the  date  at 
which  any  portion  was  built  or  renewed.  Cathedral 
archives  of  whatever  class,  are  sure  to  abound  in 
allusions  to  the  fabric  or  its  annals,  sometimes 
going  so  far  as  to  sketch  some  portion  in  the 
marginal  pages,  of  which  an  example  is  found  in 
a  drawing  of  old  St.  Paul's  in  the  14th  century, 
occurring  in  a  MS.  called  the  "  Flores  historiarum." 
The  statutes  of  our  minsters  are  rich  in  ecclesi- 
astical lore,  the  mediaeval  fraternities  or  gTiilds 
are  often  mentioned  in  them,  and  in  the  statutes 
of  St.  Paul's  a  most  curious  custom  is  mentioned 
of  waits  parading  the  streets  of  London,  to  give 
notice  of  the  feast  of  the  Transfiguration,  and 
■carrying  with  them  a  picture  or  banners  of  that 
event. 

The  antiquarian  enthusiast  on  these  subjects 
cannot  do  better  than  consult  the  work  on  "  Eno-lish 
Guilds"    published  by  the    Early    English    Text 


244  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Society,  and  that  of  the  "  Statutes  of  St.  Paul's," 
by  Dr.  Sparrow  Simpson,  1873. 

Fabric  rolls  and  inventories  are  an  endless 
source  of  detailed  information,  in  both  of  these, 
most  minute  descriptions  are  given  ;  the  painting 
and  drawing  of  images,  the  materials,  even  to  the 
pencils  and  brushes,  being  mentioned.  Perhaps 
the  most  elaborate  is  that  of  the  expense  rolls  for 
St.  Stephen's  chapel,  in  the  old  palace  of  West- 
minster, a  bill  of  charges  that  helps  to  identify  the 
kind  of  work  done  at  that  time,  and  the  general 
artistic  treatment  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III. 

The  following  entries  may  be  given  as  a  typical 
illustration  : — 

William  de  Padryngton,  mason,  for  making  twenty 
angels  to  stand  in  the  tabernacles,  by  task  work  at  6/8 
per  each  image      .....         £&   13s.  4d. 

For  seven  hundred  leaves  of  gold,  bought  for  the 
painting  of  the  tabernacles  in  the  Chapel  £1   8s.  od. 

The    following    item    shows    that    there    were 

artists  who  designed  the   work  afterwards   carried 

out  by  inferior  craftsmen. 

Hugh  de  St.  Alban's  and  John  de  Cotton,  painters, 
working  on  the  drawings  of  several  images.       £0  9s.   od. 

An  examination  of  this  expense  roll,  of  which 
this  is  not  a  tithe  of  the  entries,  printed  in  Smith's 
history  of  Westminister,  will  well  repay  attention. 


THE  CLOISTER  AND  ITS  STORY.  245 

With  those  graceful  chantries,  which  adorn 
most  of  our  minsters,  are  closely  connected  the 
service  books  of  the  middle  ages,  for  it  was  usual 
to  insert  in  the  blank  spaces  of  the  collects  the 
names  of  the  founders  of  the  chantry  chapels. 

Indeed,  the  subtle  way  in  which  our  old  docu- 
ments, of  whatever  class,  interweave  themselves 
with  the  annals  of  our  mediaeval  buildings,  whether 
as  regards  the  general  plan,  the  design  of  some 
sculptured  porch,  the  pictured  images  on  walls,  or 
the  many-coloured  votive  chapel,  each  and  all 
illustrating  a  quaint  legend  or  significant  custom,  is 
too  numerous  to  indicate. 

"  Nor  was  all  this  labour  spent  in  vain  ;  their 
homes  for  centuries  were  in  the  silence  of  the 
sanctuary  ;  their  authors  have  mingled  with  the 
dust  of  the  convent  cemetery  ;  over  them  have 
passed  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  ;  but  through  them  history  has  been  trans- 
mitted with  a  continuity  and  fulness  not  to  be 
found  in  any  other  form  of  art,  or,  it  may  be  said 
in  any  form  of  literature."* 

"  Mid  all  the  light  a  happier  age  has  brought, 
We  work  not  yet  as  our  forefathers  wrought." 

*  "History  of  Our  Lord,"  by  the  late  Mrs.  Jameson,  1864. 


SbortbanD  in  Cburcb. 

By  William  E.  A.  Axon,  f.r.s.l. 

WHEN  Job  Everardt  published  in  the  year 
1658,  his  "  Epitome  of  Stenographic," 
he  had  certainly  no  intention  of  minimising  the 
value  of  his  art,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  quite 
ready  to  magnify  the  office  of  the  shorthand 
writer.  The  engraved  title-page  is  ornamented 
by  eleven  emblematical  pictures,  and  stenography 
is  declared  to  be  "  Swifter  than  the  swift  of  foot " 
(Amos  ii.  15)  ;  "  Swifter  than  a  post"  (Job  ix.  25)  ; 
"  Swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle  "  (Job  vii.  20)  ; 
"Swifter  than  waters"  (Job  xxiv.  18);  "Swifter 
than  clouds"  (Isaiah  xix.  1)  ;  "Swifter  than 
ships"  (Job  ix.  26);  "Swifter  than  horses"  (Jer. 
iv.  13)  ;  "  Swifter  than  dromedaries"  (Jer.  ii.  23)  ; 
"  Swifter  than  roes"  (1  Chron.  xii.  8);  "Swifter 
than  leopards  "  (Heb.  i.  8)  ;  "  Swifter  than  eagles  " 
(2  Sam.  i.  23).  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing 
that  the  worthy  Everardt  consistently  spells  than 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  247 

then  in  the  text  to  each  of  these  emblems.  We 
have  left  to  the  last  the  picture  which  holds  the 
place  of  honour.  Here  we  see  a  worthy  divine, 
robed  in  a  black  gown,  set  off  with  white  collars 
and  cuffs,  and  with  his  head  covered  by  a  furred 
skull  cap.  He  stands  in  a  low  pulpit,  his  hands 
rest  on  the  comfortable  cushion,  which  is  un- 
encumbered either  by  book  or  MS.  Opposite  to 
him,  and  occupying  the  whole  of  a  comfortable 
form  or  very  wide  chair,  is  a  stenographer.  He 
wears  his  hat,  as  was  often  customary  in  church 
during  the  seventeenth  century  ;  he  has  impressive 
white  hands  ;  he  has  not  taken  off  his  cloak,  but 
on  a  fold  of  it  allows  a  book  to  rest,  in  which, 
with  an  impossible  pen,  he  is  taking  down  the 
sermon,  and  stares  with  fixed  gaze  as  the  divine 
asserts  "  My  tongue  is  as  the  pen  of  a  swift 
writer,"  and  seems  almost  inclined  to  dispute  the 
assertion  that  any  tongue  could  keep  pace  with 
his  nimble  stylus. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  early  steno- 
graphers— to  confine  our  attention  to  them — were 
not  at  all  in  the  habit  of  under-valuing  their  art. 
Here  is  what  this  same  Everardt,  "dropping  into 
poetry "  like  Silas  Wegg,  has  to  say  in  a  triple 
acrostic  : — 


248  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Secret,  short,  swift  this  Writer  iS,  the  Sun's  course  seemes  but  slow  to  hiS 
The  Teacher's  nimble  tongue  comes  shorT  this  Writer  waits  his  nexT  reporT 
Eagles  arE  swift,  his  pen  doth  fleE  his  quill  an  Eagle's  seems  to  bE 
Noe  clouds  can  flee,  Nor  waters  ruN  swifter  theN  his  quick  strokes  have  doN 
One  posting  Swiftly  TO  and  frO  his  Oft-turn'd  quill  doth  even  SO 
Galley  or  ship  with  Sailes  and  FlagG  the  Weavers  shuttle,  Leopard,  StagG 
Roe,  Dromedary,  Horse  oR  Ha'R  :  oR  the  swift  swiming  Dolphin  ra'R 
And  the  quick  Scribes,  As  ShemajA  Baruch,  EzrA,  ELISHAMA 
Paint  forth,  as  Patterns  in  a  maP  this  ARTS  true  Portrature  and  shaP 
Haste  Haste  to  learn  what  it  doth  teacH  Swiftness  and  Shortness  botH  to  reacH 
Yea  both  in  StenographyLY      much      more     in     this     E  P I T  O  M  Y 

After  this  ingenious  torturing  of  the  Queen's 
English,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find, 

"  In  steed  [sic]  of  Tenne  commandts-  Lords  Pray'r,  Creed  : 
Heer's  Three  and  Thirty  Languages  to  Reade," 

that  is  to  say,  the  sentence  "  But  the  just  shall 
live  by  his  faith,"  in  that  number  of  tongues,  first 
in  his  stenographic  characters,  and  then  trans- 
literated into  longhand.  His  dedication  is  written 
in  the  style  of  a  sermon,  and  in  an  introductory 
verse  he  does  not  fail  to  claim  that  by  his  art  are 

"...     Sermons  writ  even  from  the  lip, 
And  sudden  thoughts  before  they  slip." 

His  good  opinion  of  his  own  stenography,  and 
powers  of  versification,  sustains  him  to  the  end 
of  his  book,  and  he  bids  us  adieu  in  this  wise  : — 

"  Herewith  Farewell ;  If  you  can  tell 
What  yet  more  fair,  short,  swift  maybee, 
Let  the  world  know  it,  candedly  [sic]  show  it 
Or  if  not,  Follow  this  with  mee." 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  249 

William    Hopkin's   '.'Flying   Penman"   (1695), 

has  the  following   commendation    signed  by  one 

whose    surname    has    since    become    famous     in 

divinity  : — 

"Virgil,  who  largely  wrot  about  the  Gnat 
That  saveing  Man's  life  his  own  ruine  gat, 
Might  have  emploi'd  his  pen  about  this  Fly 
With  greater  pleasure  and  Utility, 
A  Fly  this  is,  but  of  more  noble  kind 
Than  in  the  winged  crue  you  ere  did  find  : 
A  Flying  Man  ;  the  Flying-Pen-man  'tis 
Whose  wing  the  fleeing  game  doth  never  miss. 
The  Eagle  strikes  down  and  eats  up  his  prey 
Destroying  all  that  he  doth  bear  away, 
Bui  what  this  Pen-man  takes  he  doth  preserve, 
And  makes  it  better  to  all  uses  serve, 
When  fleeting  words  would  vanish  with  their  sound 
He  doth  them  stay,  and  them  deliver  bound, 
By  Lines  of  Characters  wherein  they  rest 
As  in  a  dwelling  that  doth  please  them  best. 
The  Art  of  Spelling  at  first  was  thought 
Strange,  and  they  deem'd  immortal  who  it  taught, 
Spelling  by  Characters  excelleth  all 
That  under  any  other  Art  doth  fall. 
Some  Charactors  creep,  some  go,  these  do  Fly 
Showing  their  authors  great  agility, 
And  this  ability  he  doth  impart 
By  certain  rules  of  a  defusive  Art." 

Edward  Beecher. 

Hopkins  gives  a  long  list  of  theological  words, 
and  of  abbreviations  of  such  phrases  as  "  the  blood 


2So  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

of  the    saints,"    "the    breath    of  the   Almighty," 
"the  candle  of  the  Lord,"  etc.      In  reporting  the 
words  of  preachers,  he  advises  the  use  of  a  book, 
with  a   margin  ruled  off,   in  which  to   "set  down 
the  numbers  and  names  of  all  the  heads  contained 
in  the  sermon.      All  these  heads,"  he  says,  "with 
parts  of  the  Inlargements  used  upon  them  may  be 
taken    by   such    who   hardly  ever   wrote   before." 
This  statement  must  be  received  cum  prano  salis. 
The  system   best   known   as  that  of  Jeremiah 
Rich,    who   appears   to   have   copied   it   from   his 
uncle,  William  Cartwright,  was  one  that  seems  to 
have  been  favoured  by  the  divines  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.      It  was  modified   by    Dr.   Dodd- 
ridge, and  taught  in  his  academy  for  the  training 
of  Nonconformist  ministers,   and  then   came  into 
use  in  most  of  the  older   dissenting  colleges,   so 
that  twenty  years  ago  there  were  many  who  had 
thus   been    trained   and   conned    the  dumpty  little 
bibles   and   psalm   books   that    were   engraved   in 
Rich's    system.       That     system    has    had    many 
names   attached   to   it.      Let  us  take   that   which 
bears   the   impress   of    "  Botley's    learned    hand." 
One  of  his  eulogists  tells  us 

"  Sermons  this  art  transfers,  its  oft  known 
The  countrey  reaps  what's  in  the  City  sowne  ; 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  251 

"  The  sacred  pulpit  is  not  its  confine 
The  general  good  is  this  art's  main  designe." 

Botlev's  "  Maximum  in  Minimo,"  which 
appeared  in  1659,  is  avowedly  Jeremiah  Rich's 
"  Pen's  dexterity  compleated."  The  theological 
uses  of  the  system  are  further  asserted  by 
ingenious  devices  for  indicating  such  phrases  as 
"to  be  joyned  in  love  to  those  that  are  not  of  the 
people  of  God,"  "  to  embrace  the  cross  of  Christ," 
etc.  This  character  =  O  signifies  "  to  be  miserable 
as  the  world  is  miserable,"  whilst  A  meant  "a 
saint  is  a  1000  times  better  than  the  world."  So  in 
Noah  Bridge's  "  Stenographic, "  issued  in  the 
same  year,  there  are  phraseograms  for  "  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,"  "wherefore  said  the  psalmist," 
etc. 

The  "New  Method  of  Short  and  Swift 
Writing,"  which  was  given  away  to  purchasers  of 
Dr.  Chamberlen's  "  anodyne  necklace  for  children's 
teeth,"  is  declared  to  be  "necessary  for  all  Ministers 
of  State,  Members  of  Parliament,  Lawyers, 
Divines,  Students,  Tradesmen,  Shopkeepers, 
Travellers,  and  in  fine,  all  sorts  of  persons  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest  quality,  degree,  rank, 
station,  and  condition  whatsoever,  and  write  down 
presently  whatever  they  hear  or  see  done."     The 


252  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

theologian   here    is    somewhat    lost    in    an    indis- 
criminate crowd. 

That  shorthand  was  used  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  copies  both  of  plays  and  of  sermons  in 
the  seventeenth  century  is  sufficiently  well-known. 
There  is  a  curious  tract  which  professes  to  be  a 
shorthand  report  of  a  discourse,  by  no  less  a  person 
than  our  "  Cromwell,  chief  of  men,"  and  although 
it  is  but  a  satire,  its  curious  titlepage  is  neverthe- 
less evidence  of  the  common  belief, — founded 
doubtless  on  the  common  practice, — that  steno- 
graphy could  secure  verbatim  reports  of  the 
exhortations  of  preachers,  whether  clerical  or  lay. 
The  tract  professes  to  be, — 

"  A  most  Learned,  Conscientious  and  Devout  Exercise 
or  Sermon  of  Self-Denyal,  (Preached  or)  Held  forth  the  last 
Lords-day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  Freedom  the  ist,  1649.  At 
Sir  P.  T.'s  House  in  Lincolns-Inn-Fields.  By  Lieutenant 
General  Oliver  Cromwell,  Immediately  before  his  going  for 
Ireland,  as  it  was  then  faithfully  taken  in  Characters,  By  Aaron 
Gueredo.  And  now  published  for  the  Benefit  of  the  New  Polon- 
ian  Association,  and  late  Famed  Ignoramus  furies  of  this  city. 
Humbly  Dedicated  to  the  Worthy  Protestant-Hop-Merchants, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Ignoramus-Brethren.  London  :  Printed  in 
the  Year  of  Freedom  43." 

The  sermons  of  Tobias  Crisp,  which  gave  rise 
to  a  long  controversy,  were  printed  from  "short- 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  253 

writing,"  in   1642-43,  and  also  those  of  Stephen 
Crisp,  the  Quaker,  in  1694. 

The  quarrel  between  the  preacher  and  the 
reporter  was  not  long  in  breaking  out.  Here  is 
the  indignant  complaint  of  Dr.  Calamy  in  the 
preface  of  one  of  his  discourses. — 

"  The  iniquity  of  the  times  hath  necessitated  the  printing  of 
the  ensuing  Sermon.     There  is  a  Fellow,  (who  he  is   I   know 
not)  who  hath  for  his  own  private  advantage,  published  it  very 
imperfectly  and  corruptly.     And  herein  hath   not   only   sinned 
against  the  8th  Commandment  in  taking  away  another  man's 
goods  without  his  leave,  but  also  against  the  9th  Commandment, 
in  bearing  false  witness  against  his  neighbour.     For  he  makes 
me  to  say  not  only  such  things  which  I  never   said,  but   which 
are   very   absurd   and   irrational.     As   for   example  :  That  the 
Body  is  the  worse  part  of  the  Soul.     That  the  party  deceased 
had  not  only  dona  sanaia,  but  selutifera.     That  I  should  tell  a 
story  of  one  good  Pell,  a  Minister,  born  without  doubt  in  Utopia, 
for  of  such    a  man  I  never    either    read   or    heard.     To    make 
some  satisfaction  to  the  living  and  the  dead,  here  you  have  the 
same  sermon  in  a  truer  edition  with  some  few  additions  then 
omitted  for  want  of  time.     If  this  unhappy  necessity  may  con- 
tribute anything  to  thy   good,  or   to   the   perpetuating   of  the 
Memory  of  the   Reverend,   Learned,  and   godly   Minister  (at 
whose  Funeral  it  was  preached),   I  shall  not  much  repent  for 
what  I  have  done,  though  I  am  assured,  that  he  that  brought 
me  into  this  necessity,  hath  cause  to  repent  of  this,  his  irregular 
and  unwarrantable  practice.     ("  The  Saint's  Transfiguration,"  a 
Sermon  preached  at   the   Funeral   of    Dr.   Samuel   Bolton,    by 
Edmund  Calamy,  b.d.,  October  19,  1654.     London,  1655)." 

The  preacher  had  of  course  alluded  to  Conradus 


254  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

Pellicanus,  the  German  theologian,  whose  name 
the  stenographer  had  but  partially  caught,  and  set 
down  as  "  Pell !"  Hinc  Mae  lackrymae — of  angry- 
indignation. 

The  stenographers  of  the  last  century  followed 
closely  in  the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors. 
James  Weston's  "  Stenography  "  of  which  various 
editions  appeared  between  1727  and  1740,  has  an 
engraving  showing  a  cathedral,  in  which  a  be- 
wigged  divine  is  preaching  to  a  crowd  of  fashion- 
ably dressed  ladies  and  gentlemen,  many  of  whom 
are  busy  with  pen  and  notebook.  Underneath 
the  picture  is  the  motto, — 

"  Be  perfect  in  this  useful  art,  and  then 
No  word  from  pulpit  can  escape  your  pen." 

This  idea  was  conveyed  by  Aulay  Macaulay, 
whose  "  Polygraph)7 "  has  for  a  frontispiece  a 
pretty  engraving,  in  which  two  gentlemen  and  a 
lady  are  seen  taking  down  the  words  which,  from 
the  preacher's  gestures,  we  may  suppose  to  be  both 
impressive  and  profitable. 

In  the  nineteenth  century,  as  in  the  seventeenth, 
the  church  is  much  frequented  by  stenographers, 
but  more  it  is  to  be  feared  for  practice  in  short- 
hand than  for  perfection  in  piety.  The  first 
ambition    of    the    boy     who     is    learning    short- 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  255 

hand   is  to  "report"   a  sermon  by   the  preacher 
whose  ministry  he  attends.      Mr.   Thomas   Allen 
Reed    has    given     an    amusing    account     of    his 
first   exploit  in  this    direction,   when  he  was  still 
struggling  with  the  early  difficulties  of  the  system 
he   soon  after  abandoned  for  phonography.      He 
says,  "  I  did  not,  however,  relinquish  my  practice, 
and  in  a  few  weeks  I  resolved  on  making-  a  grand 
attempt  to  take  down  the  Sunday  sermon.      I  rose 
early  in  the  morning  with  the  sense  of  a  weighty 
responsibility  resting  upon  me.      I  sharpened  my 
pencil   with  the  gravity  of  a  senator,  and  folded 
several  sheets  of  paper  together,  in  the  profound 
conviction   that   I   was    undertaking   a   serious,   if 
not  a  formidable,  duty.      I  did  my  best  to  conceal 
my  emotions,  but  my  heart  was  beating  all  the  way 
to  the  church.      As  to  the  preliminary  service,  I 
understood  as  little  of  it  as  if  it  had  been  read  in 
Cherokee.      I  stood  when  I  ought  to  have  knelt, 
and  knelt  when   I   should  have  sat  or  stood,  and 
demeaned    myself   like  a    youth    whose    religious 
education  had  been  sadly  neglected.      At  length 
the  clergyman  entered  the  pulpit,  and  I  took  my 
sheets  of  paper  from    the   Bible  in  which   I   had 
concealed  them,  and   my  pencil  from  my  pocket. 
If  I  did  not  feel  like  Bonaparte's  soldiers,  that  the 


256  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

eyes  of  posterity  were  upon  me,  I  devoutly 
believed  that  every  eye  in  the  church  was  directed 
to  my  note  book.  The  colour  mounted  my  cheeks 
(as  it  very  often  did  at  that  period  of  my  life,)  and 
my  whole  frame  trembled.  I  had  a  strong  impulse 
to  abandon  my  project,  but  I  summoned  all  my 
energy  to  the  task,  and  awaited  the  commence- 
ment of  the  sermon.  'The  12th  chapter  of  Isaiah 
and  the  3rd  verse,'  said  the  minister  in  solemn 
tones.  This  presented  no  great  difficulty.  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that,  stenographically  speaking,  I 
burked  Isaiah,  and  contented  myself  with  the 
lone-hand  abbreviation,  Is.,  and  as  to  the  text 
itself,  I  thought  the  first  three  words  would  suffice. 
And  now  for  the  sermon.  '  The  remarkable 
words,  my  brethren,  of  this  important  prophecy.' 
Laboriously  I  followed  the  deliberate  utterances 
of  the  speaker,  but  when  I  reached  the  prophecy 
I  floundered  about  in  a  maze  of  dire  confusion. 
I  thought  it  began  with  ph,  and  I  accordingly 
started  as  I  had  been  instructed,  with  the 
stenographic  equivalent,  f,  but,  finding  that  this 
would  not  do,  I  crossed  it  out.  Then  I  tried  p, 
r,  and  getting  a  good  deal  confused,  plunged 
madly  into  the  alphabet,  the  result  being  a 
combination    of     characters     altogether     beyond 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  257 

description.  But  where  was  the  preacher  ? 
Away  in  the  distance,  almost  out  of  sight  and 
hearing.  I  was  fairly  beaten,  but  not  quite 
disheartened.  When  another  sentence  was  begun 
I  made  a  fresh  start,  this  time  I  was  pulled  up  by 
the  word  'synonymous,'  I  knew  there  were  some 
n's  and  m's  in  it,  but  not  how  many.  I  must  have 
written  three  or  four  of  each,  and  while  I  was 
jerking  out  these  segments  of  circles  (their  forms 
were  the  same  as  in  Phonography,)  the  clergyman 
was  remorselessly  pursuing  the  intricacies  of  a  long 
sentence,  which  I  was  compelled  wholly  to 
abandon.  I  made  several  other  efforts  with  the 
like  result.  At  length  I  secured  an  entire  sentence 
of  about  twenty  words,  and  felt  very  proud  of  the 
achievement.  Some  half-dozen  such  sentences 
rewarded  my  labour  during  the  sermon.  How  I 
racked  my  brain  in  the  afternoon  in  poring  over 
these  fragments!  My  memory  (not  then  a  bad 
one)  was  utterly  useless.  I  had  not  the  slightest 
conception  of  the  drift  of  the  sermon,  but  I  was 
determined  to  make  some  kind  of  a  transcript,  and 
it  was  made.  I  presented  it  to  my  mother  as  my 
first  attempt,  and  I  believe,  she  kept  it  carefully 
locked  up  in  a  drawer  among  her  treasures.  It 
was    fortunate    for    my    reputation    that   it   never 


17 


258  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

afterwards  saw  the  light."  (Leaves  from  the 
Notebook  of  Thomas  Allen  Reed,  vol.  i,  p.  12  ; 
vol.  2,  p.  24). 

The  professional  reporting  of  sermons  is  now 
an  important  department  of  the  stenographer's 
work.  The  late  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  were 
thus  reported  by  Mr.  Reed.  Dr.  dimming  had 
his  own  reporter,  as  had  Beecher,  and  as  Talmage 
and  others  have.  Dr.  Joseph  Parker's  discourses 
were  "specially  reported"  by  his  wife.  It  is  to 
the  phonographic  skill  of  a  lady  that  we  owe  the 
preservation  of  many  of  the  lectures,  sermons,  and 
prayers  of  the  late  George  Dawson.  The  sermons 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  T.  Lynch  were  also 
reported  by  Mr.  Reed.  Yet  the  preacher  had  a 
strong  dislike  to  his  discourses  being  reported  and 
printed,  "especially  without  his  revision."  There, 
no  doubt,  is  the  rub.  Dr.  Morley  Punshon  had  a 
strong  dislike  to  be  reported,  and  some  letters  that 
passed  between  him  and  Mr.  Reed  are  given  in 
the  Phonetic  Journal,  July  30th,  1881.  His 
objections  were  that  the  reporter  was  sometimes 
inaccurate,  and  that  the  preacher  alone  had  a  right 
to  decide  whether  he  would  or  would  not  address 
the  larger  congregation  to  be  reached  by  the  press. 
And  he  urged  very  strongly  that  the  arguments 


SHORTHAND  IN  CHURCH.  259 

used  by  Macaulay  as  to  the  unauthorised 
publication  of  his  speeches  were  equally  applicable 
to  the  case  of  sermons.  It  is  still  a  rather 
doubtful  point  whether  sermons  are  covered  by 
the  law  of  copyright,  and  many  single  sermons 
and  even  volumes  have  been  published  without 
the  sanction,  and  sometimes  against  the  wishes,  of 
the  preachers.  But  as  it  has  been  held  by  the 
law  courts  that  a  professor's  lectures  cannot  be 
legally  published  without  his  consent,  it  is  possible 
that  some  day  a  preacher  may  arise  who  will  test 
the  question  and  ask  the  judges  to  say  if  the  pulpit 
is  as  much  protected  as  the  teacher's  desk.  The 
late  Bishop  Fraser  is  said  to  have  jocularly 
declared  that  there  was  no  heresy  that  had  not 
been  attributed  to  him  by  the  slips  of  note-takers 
and  condensers. 

Shorthand  has  been  extensively  used  for  the 
MS.  of  preachers,  as  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  Job  Orton, 
and  a  host  of  other  preachers, — so  many,  indeed, 
that  to  deal  with  stenography  in  the  pulpit  would 
need  a  larger  space  than  is  here  available. 

Perhaps  the  most  original  use  of  shorthand  in 
church  was  that  due  to  the  conscientiousness  and 
business  instincts  of  the  late  Rt.  Hon.  \V.  H. 
Smith.        Ecclesiastical     patronage     he     felt     to 


26o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

be  a  great  responsibility.  When  there  was  a 
minister  to  be  appointed  he  sought  the  best 
information  as  to  those  who  were  recommended 
to  him  as  suitable.  Sometimes  he  corresponded 
with  friends  likely  to  know  ;  "at  other  times  he 
used  to  send  his  confidential  shorthand  writer  to 
attend  the  services  of  clergymen  who  might  be 
suitable  for  the  vacancy,  and  bring  him  verbatim 
reports  of  the  sermons,  with  confidential  memor- 
anda of  their  appearance,  views,  abilities,  and 
other  details.  It  was  only  after  carefully 
examining  this  information  that  he  would  proceed 
to  make  the  appointment." 

Those  clergymen  who  owed  their  promotion  to 
the  testimonials  thus  obtained  might  say  with  Job 
Orton's  pious  fervour,  "  Blessed  be  God  for 
shorthand." 


I 


IReminiecences  of  our  Dillage  Cburcb. 

By  the  Rev.  Canon  Benham,  b.d.,  f.s.a. 

PROPOSE  in  the  following  notes  to  write 
my  recollections  of  a  village  church.  They 
extend  over  nearly  sixty  years,  and  will,  no  doubt, 
describe  a  growth  and  change  which  might  have 
been  observed  in  a  thousand  English  churches. 

But  first,  let  me  say  a  few  words  of  this  church 
before  my  recollection  of  it  ;  not  long  before,  for  I 
am  indebted  to  my  mother's  reminiscences  for  the 
few  trifles  with  which  I  open.  It  was  a  heavy 
looking  edifice,  not  attractive  to  the  eye  as 
compared  with  the  "storied  windows,  richly 
dight,"  which  mark  the  churches  of  the  beautiful 
Gothic  revival  of  our  own  times.  This  was  a 
plain  building,  flint,  with  queer  old  stone  facings, 
a  heavy  tower,  "churchwarden"  windows  with 
diamond  panes,  with  not  an  atom  of  beautiful 
tracery  from  one  end  to  the  other. 

And  yet  that  church,  if  you  had  been  taught 
how  to  look  for  it,  contained  features  of  the 
deepest  interest  to  an  antiquary.  Within,  were 
heavy  Norman    pillars   between  nave  and  aisles, 


262  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and    a     round-headed     flattened     chancel     arch, 
unmistakably  Saxon.       For  that  church  was  built 
by   S.   Wilfred  of  York  in  the   8th  century,  and 
built  so  substantially,  that  there  it  was  in  the  19th 
century,  sturdy    and     strong,   though     successive 
generations  had  bepewed  it  and  begalleried  it,  and 
put  in  square  ugly  windows,  and  a  three-decker, 
in    fact,    had    used    their    utmost    endeavours    to 
disfigure  it.      They  could  not  destroy  the  simple 
Norman  capitals,  but  they  had  whitewashed  them, 
and    had    written    up,   with     the    best    intentions, 
texts   on   the   walls,   in    which    my   youthful   eyes 
discovered  two  or  three  blunders  in  spelling.      It* 
is  no  wonder  that  the  old  Rector,  who  liked  to  see 
everything-    graceful    and    artistic,    but    who    had 
never    learned    the     principles     of     Architecture 
scientifically,    failed    to    appreciate    S.    Wilfred's 
ancient  work,  and  yearned  to  see  something  more 
graceful  in  its  place.      But  of  that  presently.      Let 
me  go  back  for  eighty  years.      The  incumbent  in 
those  days  was  an  old  foxhunter,  very  fat  and  of 
enormous  appetite.      One  day  he  came  in  from  a 
long  run  across  country.      "  Wilthon,"  said  he  (he 
used  to   lisp)    "What   ith   there  for  my  dinner?" 
"A  goose,   sir,"  said   Wilson.      "Bring    him    up, 
Wilthon,  I'll  goothe  him."     And  he  finished  the 


OUR  VILLAGE  CHURCH.  263 

goose  and  picked  every  bone  clean.     A  well-known 
politician,  who  died  only  recently,  was  born  in  the 
village,    and    the    old    rector    was    called     on    to 
baptize   him.      "  Name   thith  child,"  said   he,   and 
the    answer    was     duly     given,    "James     Edwin 
Thorold."     The  rector  stared,  for  such  exuberance 
of  nomenclature  was  very  uncommon  in  those  days. 
"  What?"  he  said  in  amazement.      The  name  was 
repeated.       "  Bleth     my     thoul,    what    a    lot    of 
nameth,"   said  he,    "  thay    it  onthe  more."      The 
name   was  said  a  third   time,   and   the   baby   was 
duly  christened.       A  lady  who  witnessed  this,  and 
who  still  lives,  told  me  of  this.      She  was   twelve 
years  old.      My    grandfather,   in  those  days,   was 
leader  of  the  choir.      They  sat  in  a  gallery,  and 
had  a  fiddler  and  a  trombone  to  accompany  them. 
The  trial  of  Queen   Caroline,  in   1820,  raised  the 
passions  of  the  whole  country  to  fever  heat,  and  the 
rustics,  for  the  most   part,  took  the  queen's  side. 
When  the  news  came  down,  that  Government  had 
abandoned  the   "  bill   of  pains  and  penalties  "  for 
depriving   her   of  the   title   of  queen,  there    were 
processions  through  the  street,  and  every  window 
that  did  not  display  a  candle,  by  way  of  illumination, 
got  a  stone  through  it.      On  the  following  Sunday 
my    grandfather    gave    out    the    Psalm,  which    of 


264  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

course  was  Tate  and  Brady's,  "35th  Psalm,  nth 
and  three  following  verses,  False  witnesses  with 
forged  complaints''  It  was  sung  with  tremendous 
energy,  and  the  old  rector  was  furious,  not 
unreasonably,  and  sent  the  whole  choir  to 
Coventry  for  some  time.  He  used  to  put  on  his 
surplice  in  the  chancel,  before  the  people,  and 
exchange  it  in  the  reading  desk  for  the  black  gown, 
and  used  to  preach  one  sermon  on  Sundays.  He 
died  about  1826,  and  was  succeeded  by  one  who 
was  a  brilliant  scholar,  a  canon  of  a  northern 
Cathedral,  and  a  man  who  according  to  his  lights 
was  zealous  for  the  decencies  of  worship.  Thus 
he  built  a  vestry,  put  the  clerk  into  a  black  gown, 
and  started  a  verger  with  a  long  coat  and  red 
collar,  knee  breeches,  and  a  long  staff  of  office, 
who  always  preceded  him  to  the  reading  desk.  I 
am  now  come  within  the  .sphere  of  my  own 
recollections.  This  old  rector  lived  until  1844, 
and  my  early  ideas  of  the  proprieties  of  the  church 
service  were  all  drawn  from  him.  For  he  had 
a  reason  for  everything,  and  expressed  it 
pleasantly,  and  he  was  very  kind  to  me  personally. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  for  many  a  year  I  tried  all 
questions  of  ritual — -I  am  not  sure  that  I  have 
ceased  even  now — with  "What  would  Doctor  B. 


OUR  VILLAGE  CHURCH.  265 

have  thought  about  this?"  He  never  preached 
one  sermon  in  the  church  during  his  whole 
incumbency.  I  understood  that  it  was  the  danger 
of  a  sudden  failure  of  voice,  to  which  he  was 
subject,  that  prevented  him.  Anyhow  that  was 
the  fact.  But  he  established  afternoon  sermons, 
and  his  curate  always  preached  them.  He  him- 
self used  regularly  to  say  the  Prayers,  and  never 
since  his  day  have  I  ever  heard  anybody  read  the 
lessons  so  well  as  he  did.  I  never  hear  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Hebrews  without  recalling  the 
magnificent  roll  of  his  voice,  as  he  brought  out  of 
it  the  points  of  the  opening  argument.  He  was 
keen  upon  chanting,  and  vocal  music,  and  we 
always  sang  the  Canticles,  and  the  metrical 
Psalms — as  I  think  very  well — and  a  few  Sanctuses. 
The  only  case  of  chanting  the  Prayer  Book 
Psalms  was  certainly  curious.  He  had  heard  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  the  137th  Psalm,  "By  the 
waters  of  Babylon,"  sung  to  a  chant  which 
much  delighted  him,  and  on  the  28th  day  of  the 
month,  when  that  Psalm  occurs,  we  chanted  it  to 
the  music  referred  to.  All  the  other  Psalms  were 
read. 

We  used  to  be  told  at  school  that  on  Sundays 
we  got  a  taste  of  Heaven,  for  we  went  to  church 


266  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

and  sang  God's  praises.  I  do  not  quarrel  with 
the  teaching  even  now,  I  think  there  is  something 
in  it.  But  I  used  to  think,  in  those  tender 
pinafore  years,  that  in  Heaven  there  would  be  one 
improvement,  namely,  that  we  should  not  stand 
on  cold  damp  stones  and  feel  half  perished.  There 
were  forms  running  up  the  centre  of  the  church, 
the  whole  length  of  it,  on  the  cold  bricks,  no 
arrangement  at  all  for  kneeling,  and  on  these  forms 
we  sat  during  lessons,  prayers,  sermon  ;  and  many 
a  cold  in  the  head  did  I  catch.  The  best  singers 
among  the  boys,  of  whom  I  was  not  one,  went 
into  the  gallery.  The  old  Rector  established  a 
school  in  the  village,  and  we  learned  the  Tonic 
Sol-Fah,  and  the  singing  was  said  to  be  the  best 
for  miles  round.  I  think  it  was  in  1842,  two 
years  before  his  death,  that  the  fiddles  and 
clarionettes  were  disestablished,  and  the  music  was 
entirely  vocal. 

There  was  one  feature  of  his  incumbency  which 
I  must  not  foroet,  I  mean  his  church  catechising. 
It  had  always  been  a  favourite  doctrine  of  his,  that 
catechising  in  church  should  be  a  feature  of  church 
work,  and  every  Sunday  afternoon  in  Lent,  the 
boys  were  marshalled  round  the  reading  desk  and 
catechised.      Perhaps  rather  unfortunately,  he  had 


OUR  VILLAGE  CHURCH.  267 

a  keen  sense  of  fun,  and  occasionally  a  bit  of 
humour  in  his  questions,  or  his  comments,  set 
the  congregation  in  a  titter.  But  there  was  no 
question  that  those  who  listened  picked  up  a  great 
amount  of  Biblical  and  ecclesiastical  knowledge. 

One  mistake  as  I  know  now,  the  dear  old 
rector  made.  He  did  not  know  of  the  archaeological 
interest  of  the  church,  disfigured  as  it  had  been 
by  country  carpenters  and  painters  and  white- 
washers,  and  he  built  a  new  one,  designed  by  Sir 
G.  Gilbert  Scott,  then  a  very  young  man.  And 
so  S.  Wilfred's  Church  was  pulled  down,  and  a 
modern  building,  handsome  enough,  has  taken  its 
place.  But  before  it  was  finished  the  old  rector 
died.  So  now  my  recollections  pass  on  to 
another  building  and  another  idea  of  service. 

The  new  church  was  certainly  more  comfortable 
for  the  schoolboys,  and  the  singing  still  continued 
good.  But  the  new  rector  made  some  alterations 
in  matters  on  which  his  predecessors  had  been 
strong.  He  was  a  very  pronounced  Puritan,  and 
forbade  the  school  children  to  turn  eastward  for  the 
Creeds.  He  forbade  such  simple  anthems  as  "Lord 
of  all  power  and  might,"  and  Cecil's  "  I  will  arise." 
But  he  had  his  very  good  points.  He  was  young 
and    active,    and    visited    his   people  assiduously, 


268  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

established  a  monthly  Communion,  and  worked  up 
a  regular  branch  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
which  nobody  in  the  village  had  ever  heard  of 
before.  I  grew  up  to  manhood  during  his  incum- 
bency, and  though  I  regarded  his  Puritan  practices, 
and  listened  to  his  Calvinistic  sermons  and  tirades 
against  Popery  with  extreme  dislike,  I  see  now 
that  he  was  a  man  who  was  most  faithful  to  his 
convictions,  and  no  man  could  be  more  earnest 
for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  people.  He  was 
no  scholar,  I  doubt  whether  he  could  have  read  a 
page  of  the  Greek  Testament  in  his  later  days. 
But  he  was  the  kind  friend  of  the  sick  and  the 
aged,  and  looked  after  the  young  people  of  his 
flock,  and  when  they  went  forth  into  the  world 
gave  them  loving  and  sensible  counsels.  His 
wife  was  as  sweet  and  saintly  a  character  as  ever 
I  knew,  and  their  large  family  have  all  proved 
the  wisdom  of  their  training.  One  son  has 
earned  himself  a  name  as  respected  as  it  is  widely 
known. 

His  successor  was  a  man  of  like  views,  better 
read,  and  a  kindly-hearted  man.  But  he  was  less 
in  his  parish.  Though  he  kept  no  curate,  he  was 
constantly  absent  as  a  "missionary  deputation,"  and 
his  congregation,  who  had  never  been  instructed 


OUR  VILLAGE  CHURCH.  269 

in  church  principles,  fell  away.  He  died,  and  his 
successor,  who  was  only  there  for  a  year  or  two, 
was,  I  am  told,  a  failure,  greatly  owing  to  weak 
health  ;  and  so  we  come  down  to  present  times. 
An  organ  has  been  given  to  the  church,  thanks  to 
a  generous  layman  ;  the  choir  march  in  procession 
to  their  places  in  the  chancel,  they  do  a  respectable 
choral  service,  and  of  course  turn  eastward 
for  their  Creed.  The  parson  looks  thoroughly 
well  after  them,  and  loves  them.  There  are 
regular  week-day  services,  and  a  fair  attendance 
on  holy  days,  and  the  Sunday  congregation  is 
steadily  increasing.      It  had  gone  down  terribly. 

Such  is  an  impartial  review  of  the  church  life  in 
an  out-of-the-way  country  village.  My  own  special 
old  Rector  (for  I  owe  more  to  him  than  I  could 
ever  tell),  the  builder  of  the  church,  was  one  of  the 
orieinal  movers  in  the  celebrated  movement  of 
1833,  was  in  fact  one  of  the  persons  present  at 
the  meeting  at  Hadleigh  Rectory,  under  the 
presidency  of  Hugh  James  Rose,  which  led  to  the 
starting  of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times. 

His  name  appears  both  in  Palmer's  Narrative, 
and  in  Newman's  Correspondence.  He  was  a 
great  friend  of  John  Keble.  But  as  the  Tract 
Movement    declined     visibly    towards     Rome    he 


27o  CURIOUS  CHURCH  CUSTOMS. 

regarded  it  with  increasing  dislike,  and  in  his  last 
years  expressed  that  dislike  with  emphasis.  I 
have  sometimes  wondered  what  position  he  would 
take  up  if  he  lived  in  our  own  day,  and  am 
inclined  to  think  that  the  present  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  would  be  regarded  by  him  as  best 
expressing  his  own  views.  Peace  to  them  every 
one,  everlasting  Light  and  Rest. 


3nfc>cy. 


Abbatial  staff,  196 
Abbots  Bromley,  horns  at,  13 
Advent  ringing,  46 
Agnus  Bell,  43 
Ale,  baptized  in,  So 
Ales,  Church,  19,  151-152 
Altars  in  churches,  161-166 
Andrews,    William,     f.r.h.s.,    In- 
scriptions    on     Bells,     49-63  ; 
Laws    of    the    Belfry,     6473  ; 
Bells  cast  in  churchyards,  154- 
156. 
Anglo-Saxon  burials,  127 
Anglo-Saxon  marriage,  100 
Anglo-Saxon  prelates,  198-201 
Announcements  of  fortunes  at  mar- 
riages, 121 
Annointing  at  baptism,  S9 
Apostle  Spoons,  90 
Armour,  burial  in,  132 
Armour  in  Churches,  174-181 
Armour  at  funerals,  129,  178 
Arvel  Dinner,  139 
Ascension  Day  customs,  188-189 
Axon,    W.     E.     A.,    Shorthand    in 
Church,  246-260 


Banns,  forbidding,  113 

Banns  peal,  46 

Baptism,  earliest  titles  of,  78 

Baptism  rejected,  79 

Barton-le-Street,  curious  customs  at, 
20 

Batley  bells,  poem  on,  61-63 

Beating  the  Bounds,   182-190 

Bell  inscriptions,  35,  39,  40,  45, 
49.  63 

Bells  cast  in  churches  and  church- 
yards, 154 

Bells  lost,  38-39 


Benham,  Rev.  Canon,  B.  D.,  f.s.a., 
Customs  and  Superstitions  of 
Baptism,  78-98  ;  Reminiscences 
of  our  Village  Church,  261- 
270 

Bibles,  throwing  dice  for,  165 

Biddenden  Maids,  25 

Bidding  at  weddings,  1 19 

Bidding  for  funerals,  146 

Bishops  in  Battle,  198-231 

Black  Prince,  armour  of,  175 

Blinds  taken  down  at  death,  139 

Bragget  Sunday,  23 

Bread  and  beer  distributed  at  a 
tomb,  20 

Bridegrooms,  104 

Box  at  funerals,  145 

Boy-bishop,  2-8 

Bozeat  toffee,  25 

Bridesmaids,  103 

Briscoe,  J.  Potter,  "  Curiosities  of 
the  Belfry,"  -jt, 

Bull-running,  28 

Burial  Customs,  126-146 

Burial  without  city  walls,  127 

Bumping  children,  187-188  ;  a 
curate,  188 

Buns  and  cider,  24 

Burning  books,  158 

Burnley  marriage  custom,  123 

Butchers'  serenade,  122 


Caistor  gad-whip,  2S 

Canute's  crown,  175 

Card -playing,  20 

Carling  Sunday,  23 

Caroline,  Queen,  trial  of,  263 

Catechising,  266 

Chanting  in  Church,  265 

Ch'ir  in  the  olden  days,  263-264 


272 


INDEX. 


Christening  bit,  92  ;  garments, 
89  ;  tongs,  91  ;  folk-lore,  94-98 

Chrisom,  143 

Christmas,  13,  22,  29,  46 

Church-Ales,  19,  151,  152 

Churchwardens'  accounts,  186-187 

Churchyards,  127 

Cider,  24 

Cock-fighting,  20 

Coffins,  burials  without,  134-135 

Collecting  at  funerals  in  Wales,  139- 
140 

Commonwealth,    marriages    under, 

"5 

Corpse,  and  right  of  way,  140 

Costume  at  weddings,  123 

Cox,  Rev.  J.  C,  ll.d.,  f.s.a.,  on 
Sports  in  Churches,  I -20 ; 
Armour  in  Churches,  174- 
181 

Cremation,  127 

Cromwell,  satire  on,  252 

Cross  roads,  burial  at,  144 

Crosses,  burial,  141,  144,  158 

Crusaders,  218,  224 

Customs  and  superstitions  of  bap- 
tism, 78-98 

Dancing  in  churches,  8-15 

Dates  on  bells,  40 

Day  for  marriage,  125 

Dead,  baptism  of,  84 

Dead,  ringing  home,  130 

Deaf  and  dumb  marriages,  120-121 

Dice  cast  on  the  Altar,  165 

Disputes    settled    in    churchyards, 

147 

Doles  at  funerals,  135,  152 

Domesday  Book,  churches  men- 
tioned in,  147 

Dowry  for  poor  maidens,  in 

Druids,  26 


Easter,  24,  36 

Easter  Eggs,  31 

Eastern     portion     of     churchyard, 

burial  in,  1 36- 138 
Edward  III.,  armour  of,  176 
Embalming,  126 
Epitaph,  curious,  58,  137 


Fairs  held  in  churchyards,  149,  237 
Feast,  22 


Feasts,  burial,  136 
Feasting  in  churches,  19 
Feudal  tenures,  21 1 
Fig-pie  Sunday,  23 
Font,  use  cf,  81 
Football,  27 
Foxhunting  parson,  262 
Funeral  banquets,  19 

Garlands  at  funerals,  143 

Garlands,  nuptial,  105 

Gifts  at  christening,  92-93 

Girls  baptised  first,  94 

Gold  and  silver,  altars  made  of,  163 

Good  Friday,  24,  28 

Good  Shepherd,  193 

Grain  at  weddings,  119 

Great  Rebellion,  227,  231 

Great  Tom  of  Lincoln,  41 

Gretna  Green  marriages,  120 

Gowrie  Plot,  37 

Gunpowder  Plot,  35-36 

Hats  worn  in  church,  247 

Hampshire  burial  superstitions,  131 

Handbells,  44 

Hare-pie,  24 

Harvest  Bell,  45 

Haxey  Hood,  27 

Heart  burial,  128 

Hearse,  130 

Hindoo  marriage  custom,  1 10 

Holy  Cross,  147,  167 

Holy  Day  Customs,  21-32 

Horn-dancers,  13-14 

Horse  claimed  at  a  mortuary,  129 

Hot  cross  buns,  24 

Hot  pot  at  weddings,  102 

Hour-glasses  in  coffins,  131 

Howlett,  England,  f.s.a.,  Marriage 
Customs,  99-125,  Burial  Cus- 
toms, 126-146  , 

Hucksters'  stalls  in  churches,  I 

Husband  and  Wife  re-united,  117 

Images,  244 
Immersion,   81 
Inscriptions  on  Bells,  49-63 


Kershaw,     S.    W.,     f.s.a.,     The 

Cloister  and  its  story,  232-245 
Kendal  Custom,  30 


INDEX. 


273 


Kissing,    109 
Knives,  103 

Lamplough,    Edward,    Bishops    in 

Battle,  198-231 
Lights  to  guide  travellers  by  night, 

232 
Longest  day,  242 
Laws  of  the  Belfry,  64-73 

Market  Bell,  37 
Marriage  Customs,  99-125 
Mass  on  the  field  of  battle,  213 
May  29th,  ringing  on,  34 
Maunday  Thursday,  30 
Midnight  burials,   142 
Mince-pies,   22 
Miracle  Play,  16- iS 
Mistletoe,  26 
Mitred  Abbots,  196 
Molly  Grime,  28 
Monks  of  Durham,  204 
Moravian  marriage  customs,  1 17 
Morris  dancers,  10-12 
Mothering  Sunday,  23 
Mulled  ale,  23 
My  ton,  battle  of,  203 

New  Year's  eve  ringing,  40 
Nicholson,   John,    Concerning    the 

Churchyard,  147-160 
Notorious    characters    buried    north 

side  of  the  church,  137 

Oak-apple  day,  34 

Palm  Sunday  at  Leigh,  29 

Palls,  145 

Page,  John  T.,  The  Rood  Loft  and 

its  uses,    167-173  ;  Beating  the 

Bounds,  182-190 
Pancakes,  22,   37 
Pancake  bell,  23 
Parish  Armour,  1 78-181 
Parish  Clerks,  114 
Passing  Bell," 47,  128 
Pastoral  staff,  129 
Paul's  Pitcher  Day,  30 
Paying  toll  at  weddings,  122 
Peacock,    Florence,    Church    Bells, 

when  and  why  they  were  Rung, 

33-4S 


Penance  performance  in  Hull,  158 
Preaching  from  Shorthand,  259 
Private  baptism,  83 
Proxy,  marriage  by,  106 
Processioning,  184 
Puritan,   267 

Quakers  baptized,  81 
Quarrels  in  churchyards,   T  51 

Reeve,     Isaac    J.,     Ringers'    Jugs, 

7477 
Refreshment  Sunday,  23 
Reminiscencesof  our  Village  Church, 

261-270 
Reporting,  objections  to,  258 
Revival  of  the  rood  screen,  172 
Rice  at  wedding,  118 
Rings,  wedding,  107 
Ringers'  Jugs,  74-77 
Rival  Popes,  216 
Rome,  ancient,  marriage  in,  IO 
Rood  Loft  and  its  Uses,  167-173 
Roods  swept  away  at  the  Reforma- 
tion, 170 
Rogation  Week,  183 
Rosemary  at  funerals,  131 
Rubbish  heap  in  churchyards,  159 
Russian  burial  customs,  141 

St.  Andrew,  40-41 

St.  Hugh's  Day,  44 

Saints    and    martyrs    buried    under 

the  altar,  161 
Salt  at  funerals,  144 
Sand  strewing  at  weddings,  124 
Sanctus  Bell,  42 

Sawdust  strewing  at  weddings,  124 
Saxon  Church,  261-262 
Screens  in  churches,  168-169 
Scrope,  Richard,  224-227 
Scriptorium,  233-235 
Scrambling  customs,  153154 
Seasons  for  marrying,  ill 
Secular  uses  of  churches,  I 
Sceptre,   192 

Seville,  dancing  at,  14-15 
Shakespeare  on  armour,  175 
Sitting  posture,  buried  in  a,  134 
Shrines,  236 
Shrove  Tuesday,  22-36 
Shoes  at  weddings,  1 18-124 
Shorthand  in  Church,  246-260 

18 


274 


INDEX. 


Simnels,  23 

Skeletons  represented  on  tombs,  142 

Smith,  W.    H. ,   shorthand   reports 

for,  259-260 
Spencer,   Bishop  of  Norwich,   214, 

216 
Sponsors,  86 
Sports  in  Churches,  1-20 
Sports  in  churchyards,  150-151 
Staff  of  authority,  191 
Standard,  battle  of,  201-202 
Stocks,  157 

Story  of  the  Crosier,  191 -197 
Sunday  burials,  145 
Sunday  of  the  Five  Loaves,  23 
Sundials,  1 56- 157 
Swedish  funerals,  141 

Taxes  on  baptism,  94 
Torches  at  funerals,  137-138 
Tracts  of  the  Times  started,  269 
Trading  in  churchyards,  148 
True  Lovers'  Knot,  107 
Twickenham  cakes,  24 
Tyack,  Rev.  G.  S.,  b.a.,  on  Holy 
Day  Customs,    21-32.      Altars 
in   Churches,     16 1 -166.       The 
Story  of  the  Crosier,  191-197 


Umbrella,  parish,  140 
Upright  burial,  133 


Viands  connected  with  Holy  Days, 
25 


Washing  feet,  30 
Waxen  effigies,  142 
Wedding  bells,  1 14 
Wedding  biddings,  119 
Well-dressing,  27 
Welsh  custom,  29 
Whitby  funeral  cakes,  146 
Whitsuntide,  11 
Wine,  baptized  in,  80 
Wine  drinking  in   church  at  wed- 
dings, 102 
Wills  about  armour,  1 77 
Wool  stored  in  churches,  1 
Woollen,  burial  in,  132 
Wren  stoning,  29 
Wymund,  the  Saxon,  205-207 


Yule-log,  26 
Yule,  songs  of,  13 


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BYGONE  NORTHAMPTONSHIRE,    edited    by    William    Andrews, 

F.R.H.S. 

BYGONE  NOTTINGHAMSHIRE,  by  William  Stevenson. 

BYGONE  SCOTLAND,  by  David  Maxwell,  c.E. 

BYGONE  SOUTHWARK,  by  Mrs.  E.  Boger. 

BYGONE  SURREY,  edited  by  George  Clinch  and  S.  W.  Kershaw,  F.s.A. 

BYGONE  WARWICKSHIRE,  edited  by  William  Andrews,  f.r.h.s. 

BYGONE  YORKSHIRE,  edited  by  William  Andrews,  f.r.h.s. 


Price  4s.  6d.    Demy  8vo. 

"A  handsome  gift  book." — Barnsley  Independent. 
"A  welcome  addition  to  fairy  books." — The  Scotsman. 
"  A  very  delightful  volume,  and  eminently  qualified  for  a  gift  book. 
.     .     .     The  stories  are  bright  and  interesting." — Glasgow  Herald. 


The  .New  Faipy  Book, 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  F.R.H.S. 

Author  of  "Bygone  England,"  etc. 
This  Volume  contains  Fifteen  New  Fairy  Stories  by  Popular 
Authors. 

Many  charming  original  illustrations  are  included. 

It  is  beautifully  printed  in  bold  clear  type,  and  bound  in  a 
most  attractive  style. 


PRESS  OPINIONS. 

"  We  hope  the  book  will  get  into  many  children's  hands."— Review 
of  Reviews. 

"We  can  recommend  the  stories  for  their  originality,  and  the 
volume  for  its  elegant  and  tasteful  appearance."—  Westminster  Gazette. 

"  The  stories  are  good."— The  World. 

"All  the  stories  in  the  collection  are  well  written.  The  illustra- 
tions are  excellent." — The  Spectator. 

"A  tasteful  volume,  and  illustrated  profusely."— The  Literary 
World. 

"  In  this  volume  it  has  been  the  editor's  desire  to  furnish  a  fresh 
collection  of  fairy  stories,  written  by  authors  who  love  children,  and 
know  exactly  the  kind  of  tales  that  gives  them  pleasure.  Something 
more  than  providing  enjoyment  is  attempted.  Useful  life  lessons 
may  be  learnt  from  the  book,  which  contains  a  most  interesting 
collection  of  fairy  stories,  each  telling  its  tale  and  pointing  its  moral 
in  the  happiest  manner."—  The  Gentlewoman. 

"It  is  certain  to  become  popular."—  Yorkshire  Post. 
"Type  and  illustrations  are  worthy  of  the  Hull   Press,  which  is 
saying  a  great  deal."—  The  News. 


"  The  stories  comprised  in  this  volume  deserve  to  be  widely  known 
and  appreciated.  There  are  some  excellent  illustrations,  and  the 
whole  '  get  up '  reflects  the  highest  credit  aliko  on  editor  and 
publishers.  It  promises  to  be  one  of  the  books  of  the  season." — 
Stamford  Mercury. 

"  '  The  New  Fairy  Book'  is  sure  to  win  its  way  to  the  possession 
and  favour  of  quite  a  host  of  young  people.  The  stories  are  evidently, 
as  the  editor  gives  assurance,  written  by  authors  who  love  children 
and  know  the  kind  of  tales  that  give  them  pleasure.  The  book  is 
well  printed,  attractively  bound,  and  freely  illustrated." — Liverpool 
Post. 

"'The  New  Fairy  Book'  is  the  title  of  a  richly  bound  volume 
containing  fifteen  fairy  tales,  edited  by  William  Andrews.  The  tales 
are  brimful  of  such  fairy  romance  as  youthful  readers  delight  in. 
Fairy  kings,  queens,  princes,  and  princesses,  pass  in  bright  procession 
through  the  pages,  everyone  of  which  presents  some  delightful  picture 
from  the  imaginative  pen.  The  scenes  amid  which  these  fairy  person- 
ages move  are  not  the  less  beautiful,  and  from  first  page  to  last  there 
is  not  to  be  found  a  single  dull  or  uninteresting  page.  The  tales 
have  been  judiciously  edited,  and  worthily  fulfil  the  editor's  aim  to 
'  furnish  a  fresh  collection  of  fairy  stories  written  by  authors  who 
love  children.'  Very  many  young  readers  will  warmly  thank  him  for 
so  faithfully  performing  his  loving  task." — Dundee  Advertiser. 

"Mr.  Andrews'  'New  Fairy  Book '  is  a  delightful  production.  So 
far  as  binding,  illustrations,  and  printing  go,  it  leaves  nothing  to  be 
desired,  and  from  this  standpoint  alone  must  be  pronounced  a  goodly 
book.  But  the  contents  are  equally  choice.  Mr.  Andrews  has  drawn 
around  him  a  number  of  skilled  story-tellers,  who  have  one  and  all 
written  with  charm  and  originality.  This  Fairy  Book  differs  from 
most  of  the  others  we  have  seen,  inasmuch  as  the  tales  are — as  the 
title  of  the  volume  indicates — absolutely  new.  It  is  true  that  they 
contain  a  number  of  the  old  ingredients,  but  then  the  makers  of  fairy 
tales  must  always  work  more  or  less  from  the  time-honoured  recipe. 
This  the  contributors  to  the  'New  Fairy  Book  '  have  done,  but  their 
effects  are  novel  and  surprising,  for  they  serve  up  the  dishes  in  varied 
ways  of  their  own  devising.  The  result  is  much  to  our  taste.  There 
are  fifteen  stories  in  all,  simple  in  style,  engaging  and  fresh  in 
manner,  with  here  and  there  a  weird  episode,  here  and  there 
something  amusing.  Ghosts,  elves,  ogres,  giants,  princes,  and,  of 
course,  fairy  queens  flit  in  and  out  of  the  scenes  ;  castles  of  enchant- 
ment, and  all  the  favourite  features  of  fairyland  are  present ;  and  so 
we  are  transpoi-ted  to  the  real  kingdom  of  the  fairies,  and  soon  find 
ourselves  absorbed  in  the  adventures  of  wondrous  heroes  and  the 
antics  of  imps.  All  this  is  as  it  should  be,  and  the  volume  will  afford 
genuine  entertainment  to  all  who  read  it — and  there  should  be  many 
— these  long  winter  nights." — Birmingham  Gazette. 

"  '  The  New  Fairy  Book,'  edited  by  William  Andrews,  is  a 
somewhat  ambitious  attempt  to  add  to  the  delightful  repertoire  of 
nursery  stories  with  which  the  literature  of  all  civilised  countries 
abounds.  The  writers  include  several  well-known  names,  and  though 
the  titles  chosen  suggest  in  some  cases  old  and  familiar  stories,  it  is 
due  to  the  editor  and  the  authors  to  say  that  they  have  discharged 
their  really  very  onerous  functions  with  great  skill  and  excellent 
judgment.  The  volume  is  published  as  a  collection  of  new  stories, 
and  if  it  should  meet  with  the  success  it  truly  deserves,  editor  and 
writers  will  have  every  reason  to  be  thankful." — Leeds  Mercury. 


Bygone  England  : 

Social  Studies  in  its  Historic  Byways  and  Highways. 

By  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  f.r.h.s. 

Contents  : — Under  Watch  and  Ward— Under  Lock  and  Key — The 
Practice  of  Pledging— The  Minstrel  in  the  Olden  Time — -Curious  Land- 
holding  Customs — Curiosities  of  Slavery  in  England — Buying  and  Selling 
in  the  Olden  Time — Curious  Fair  Customs — Old  Prejudices  against  Coal — 
The  Sedan-Chair — Running  Footmen — The  Early  Days  of  the  Umbralla 
— A  Talk  about  Tea — Concerning  Coffee — The  Horn-Book — Fighting 
Cocks  in  Schools — Bull-Baiting — The  Badge  of  Poverty — Patents  to  wear 
Nightcaps— A  Foolish  Fashion — Wedding  Notices  in  the  Last  Century — 
Selling  Wives — The  Story  of  the  Tinder  Box — The  Invention  of  Friction 
Matches — Body  Snatching — Christmas  under  the  Commonwealth — Under 
the  Mistletoe  Bough — A  carefully  prepared  Index. 

"  We  welcome  '  Bygone  England.'  It  is  another  of  Mr.  Andrews' 
meritorious  achievements  in  the  path  of  popularising  archaeological  and 
old-time  information  without  in  any  way  writing  down  to  an  ignoble 
level." — The  Antiquary. 

"A  delightful  volume  for  all  who  love  to  dive  into  the  origin  of  social 
habits  and  customs,  and  to  penetrate  into  the  byways  of  history." — 
Liverpool  Daily  Post. 

"  There  is  a  large  mass  of  information  in  this  capital  volume,  and  it  is 
so  pleasantly  put  that  many  will  be  tempted  to  study  it.  Mr.  Andrews 
has  done  his  work  with  great  skill." — London  Quarterly  Review. 

Fcap.  4to.     Bevelled  boards,  gilt  tops.     Price  4s. 

Famous  Frosts  and  Frost  Fairs  in 
Great  Britain. 

Chronicled  from  the  Earliest  to  the  Present  Time. 

By  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  f.r.h.s. 

This  work  furnishes  a  carefully  prepared  account  of  all  the  great  Frosts 
occurring  in  this  country  from  A.D.  134  to  1887.  The  numerous  Frost 
Fairs  on  the  Thames  are  fully  described,  and  illustrated  with  quaint 
woodcuts,  and  several  old  ballads  relating  to  the  subject  are  reproduced. 
It  is  tastefully  printed  and  elegantly  bound. 

"The  work  is  thoroughly  well  written,  it  is  careful  in  its  facts,  and  may 
be  pronounced  exhaustive  on  the  subject.  Illustrations  are  given  of  several 
frost  fairs  on  the  Thames,  and  as  a  trustworthy  record  this  volume  should 
be  in  every  good  library.  The  usefulness  of  the  work  is  much  enhanced 
by  a  good  index." — Public  Opinion. 

"A  very  interesting  volume." — Northern  Daily  Telegraph. 

"  A  great  deal  of  curious  and  valuable  information  is  contained  in  these 
pages.      ...     A  comely  volume." — Literary  World. 

"The  work  from  first  to  last  is  a  most  attractive  one,  and  the  arts  alike 
of  printer  and  binder  have  been  brought  into  one  to  give  it  a  pleasing 
form." —  Wakefield  Free  Press. 

19 


Biblical  and  Shakespearian  Characters 
Compared. 

Studies   of  Life   and   Literature. 

By  the  Rev.  JAMES  BELL. 

Between  the  Hebrew  Bible  and  Shakespeare  there  exist  some 
interesting  and  instructive  points  of  resemblance,  especially  in 
respect  of  their  ways  of  life  and  character.  No  doubt  certain 
inevitable  differences  also  exist  between  them,  but  these  do  not 
hide  the  resemblance ;  rather  they  serve  to  set  it,  so  to  speak,  in 
bolder  relief. 

The  author  in  this  volume  treats  of  this  striking  resemblance,  under 
certain  phases,  between  Hebrew  Prophecy  and  Shakespearian  Drama. 

The  following  are  the  chief  "Studies"  which  find  a  place  in  the 
work  :  —Hebrew  Prophecy  and  Shakespeare  :  a  Comparison  —Eli  and 
Hamlet — Saul  and  Macbeth — Jonathan  and  Horatio — David  and 
Henry  V. — Epilogue. 

The  foregoing  list  of  subjects  will  give  some  notion  of  the  drift 
and  style  of  the  book,  which,  it  is  hoped,  is  a  contribution  towards 
a  better  study  of  the  Bible  in  connection  with  our  literature  and 
moral  experience. 

The  following  short  extracts  are  selected  from  a  large   number  of 
reviews  of  Mr.  Bell's  book  : — 

"  One  of  the  most  suggestive  volumes  we  have  met  with  for  a  long 
time." — Birmingham  Daily  Gazette. 

"An  interesting  book." — North  British  Daily  Mail. 

Second  and  cheaper  edition.     Crown  8vo.     Price  Is. 

The  Studies  of  a  Socialist  Parson. 

By  the  Rev.  W.  H.  ABRAHAM,  m.a.  (London). 

The  volume  consists  of  sermons  and  addresses,  given  mostly  at  the 
St.  Augustine's  Church,  Hull.  The  author  in  his  preface  says,  "It 
is  the  duty  of  the  clergyman  to  try  and  understand  what  Socialism 
is,  and  to  lead  men  from  the  false  Socialism  to  the  true." 

Contents  : — The  Working-man,  Past  and  Present  :  A  Historical 
Review — Whither  are  we  going? — National  Righteousness — The  True 
Value  of  Life — Christian  Socialism — Jesus  Christ  the  True  Socialist — 
Socialism,  through  Christ  or  without  Him? — The  Great  Bread  Puzzle 
-—Labour  Day,  May  1,  1892 — The  People,  the  Rulers,  and  the  Priests 
— Friendly  Societies — Trades'  Unions — The  People's  Church — On 
some  Social  Questions — The  Greatest  Help  to  the  True  Social  Life — 
The  Great  I  Am — God  as  a  Present  Force— Signs  of  the  Times. 

The  following  are  selected  from  a  large  number  of  favourable 
notices  : — 

"  The  volume  is  deserving  of  all  praise." — Glasgow  Herald. 

"An  admirable  contribution  to  the  solution  of  difficult  problems. 
Mr.  Abraham  has  much  that  is  valuable  to  say,  and  says  it  well." — 
Spectator. 

"  Eminently  readable." — Northern  Daily  News. 

"  The  book  is  nicely  printed  and  got  up." — Eastern  Morning  News. 


Crown  8vo.,  140  pp.  ;    Fancy  Cover,  Is.  ;  Cloth  Bound,  2s. 

Stepping  Stones  to  Socialism. 

By  DAVID  MAXWELL,  c.e. 

Contents  : — In  a  reasonable  and  able  manner  Mr.  Maxwell  deals 
with  the  following  topics  :—  The  Popular  meaning  of  the  Word 
Socialism— Lord  Salisbury  on  Socialism— Why  There  is  in  Many 
Minds  an  Antipathy  to  Socialism— On  Some  Socialistic  Views  of 
Marriage— The  Question  of  Private  Property— The  Old  Political 
Economy  is  not  the  Way  of  Salvation— Who  is  My  Neighbour?— 
Progress,  and  the  Condition  of  the  Labourer— Good  and  Bad  Trade : 
Precarious  Employment— All  Popular  Movements  are  Helping  on 
Socialism— Modern  Literature  in  Relation  to  Social  Progress- 
Pruning  the  Old  Theological  Tree— The  Churches :  Their  Socialistic 
Tendencies— The  Future  of  Earth  in  Relation  to  Human  Life- 
Socialism  is  Based  on  Natural  Laws  of  Life— Humanity  in  the 
Future— Preludes  to  Socialism— Forecasts  of  the  Ultimate  Form  of 
Society — A  Pisgah-top  View  of  the  Promised  Land. 
The  following  are  selected  from  a  large  number  of  favourable  notices  : 

"The  author  has  evidently  reflected  deeply  on  the  subject  of 
Socialism,  and  his  views  are  broad,  equitable,  and  quite  up  to  date. 
In  a  score  or  so  of  chapters  he  discusses  Socialism  from  manifold 
points  of  view,  and  in  its  manifold  aspects.  Mr.  Maxwell  is  not  a 
fanatic;  his  book  is  not  dull,  and  his  style  is  not  amateurish.—  Hull 
Daily  Mail. 

"There  is  a  good  deal  of  charm  about  Mr.  Maxwell's  style.'' — 
Northern  Daily  News. 

Bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8vo.,  price  7s.  6d.     Only  500  copies 
printed,  and  each  copy  numbered. 

The   Monumental    Brasses  of  Lancashire 
and  Cheshire. 

With  some  Account  of  the  Persons  Represented. 
Illustrated    with     Engravings  from    Drawings    by    the    Author. 

By  JAMES  L.  THORNELY. 

"  Mr.  Thornely's  book  will  be  eagerly  sought  by  all  lovers  of 
monumental  brasses." — London  Quarterly  Review. 

"  Local  archa-ologists  will  give  a  hearty  welcome  to  this  book." — 
Manchester  Guardian. 

"Mr.  Thornely  has  produced  a  very  interesting  volume,  as  he  has 
not  only  floured  every  monumental  brass  within  the  two  counties  to 
which  he  has  confined  his  researches,  but  in  every  case  he  has  given  a 
description  also,  and  in  some  instances  the  genealogical  information 
is  of  a  high  order  of  value." — The  Tail,  t. 

"The  book  is  wonderfully  readable  for  its  kind,  and  is  evidently 
the  result  of  careful  and  painstaking  labour.  The  chapters  are  well 
condensed,  nowhere  burdened  with  verbiage,  yet  sufficiently  full  to 
serve  the  purpose  in  view.  The  illustrations  of  the  various  brasses 
are  exceedingly  well  done,  and  add  much  value  and  interest  to  the 
work,  which  should  become  popular  in  Lancashire  and  Cheshire."— 
Warrington  Guardian. 


The  Press  on 
Messrs. 


William  Andrews  &  Co.'s 

Printing  and  Binding. 


"  The  book  is  very  handsomely  got  up." — Dundee  Advertiser. 

"A  remarkably  handsome  volume,  typographically  equal  to 
the  best  production  of  any  European  capital." — North  British 
Daily  Mail. 

"  The  book  is  entitled  to  unstinted  praise  on  the  ground  of 
its  admirable  printing  and  binding." — Shields  Daily  Gazette. 

"Will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  work  of  the  first 
publishing  firms  in  London  or  Edinburgh,  the  printing  and 
paper  being  everything  the  most  fastidious  could  desire." — 
Boston  Independent. 

"  The  book  is  handsomely  brought  out." — Scotsman. 

"Beautiful  work  in  typography  and  binding." — Yorkshire 
Post. 

"Very  pretty  binding." — Publishers'   Circular. 

"Most  elegantly  bound  and  tastefully  printed."— Hull  Daily 
Mail. 

"  Beautifully  bound  and  printed." — Daily  Chronicle. 

"The  letterpress  is  beautifully  clear." — Birmingham  Daily 
Gazette. 

"The  printers'  part  is  perfectly  done." — India. 

"The  book  is  handsomely  got  up." — Manchester  Guardian. 

"The  book  is  excellently  printed  and  bound." — library 
Review. 

"  Handsomely  printed." — Neivcastle  Chronicle. 

A  notice  of  "  Bygone  Scotland  "  concludes  as  follows  : — 
"  The  book  forms  a  splendid  addition  to  the  works  of  the  same 
series  all  printed  at  the  'Hull  Press,'  and,  like  all  its 
predecessors,  is  printed  in  the  exceptionally  beautiful  style 
which  marks  the  productions  of  Mr.  Andrews'  establishment. 
The  volume  is  handsomely  bound,  and  well  illustrated.  Mr. 
Andrews  is  a  bookmaker  par  excellence." — Printing  World. 

The  Hull  Press, 

i,  Dock  Street,  Hull. 


